Interview With A Moon Chaser
by Marvy
Summary: on hiatus
1. Prologue

1**Prologue**

**Authors' Note**: Oh. Yes. It's us…Well, really, this first prologue is all from the mind of Sad-Clown-of-Darkness (Rae). The rest, however, is written by the both of us. (Rae and Nyxie/Rembrandt Carey).

**Disclaimer**: We don't own the original characters and the basics of Past Hogwarts – however, we do own just about everything else. The idea of gypsies disliking werewolves is not our own, but the idea of Fenrir Greyback having once been a gypsy man is. Ophelia Grey is definitely ours.

He looked away from the window as everything went blurring by in a fashion that nearly made him sick. Leaning back in his seat, and letting out a heavy sigh, Remus looked ahead of him where his mother and father were sitting with their heads together. He knew they were trying to think of what to say that would convince Remus' headmaster-to-be, hopefully, to let him stay. The Knight Bus jumped again, and Remus grabbed the side of the window to keep form toppling over like he had the first time. Others were not so lucky, and so grumbled as they put their seats back up. Just to have them thrown forward by and abrupt stop. Unprepared, Remus fell out of his seat.

"Sorry about that," came the male voice of the conductor. "Mr. and Mrs. Lupin, this is your stop." The conductor smiled at Remus. Standing now, Remus straightened his chair. "You too then?"

Remus nodded as he stepped in front of the man, and followed his parents down the stairs to the first level, and then off the bus. Before him was the wrought iron gates of the school that he was hoping he would be able to attend. Winged boars sat at attention on top of pillars on either side of the gate almost staring him down.

"Alright honey," Remus looked up at his mother as she laid her hand on his shoulder. She was smiling kindly at him, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Remus saw the sadness that she had tried to hide from him in her eyes. None-the-less, he smiled back, and nodded. "Okay then."

Together, Remus James Lupin, and his parents walked through the gates of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The grounds were larger, larger than he had thought they would be. In fact, looking around, he realized that Hogwarts was nothing like what he thought it would be.

Remus took in everything around him, telling himself that he was merely curious. He shouldn't get his hopes up; he didn't want to be too disappointed if the headmaster said no. It was better to feel great a lot if he could, and bad a little if he couldn't than great a little if he could, and bad a lot if he couldn't.

"Excuse me," came a female's voice. Remus looked up to see a severe woman with her hair pulled back into a tight bun. "Can I help you three? School doesn't start for another month, no one but teachers are supposed to be here until then."

"Oh, my name is Lupin, Jonathan Lupin," Remus' father said as he shook hand with the woman. "We need to speak to Professor Dumbledore about our son, Remus. It's very urgent."

"I'm sorry," she said as she looked down at Remus, he got the impression that this was not a woman to cross. "I don't think that Professor Dumbledore is seeing anyone today. Have you owled him ahead of time?"

"No, actually," Jonathan said, Remus could tell that his father was thinking that he probably should have. "This is a very…unique case, Ms. …?"

"McGonagal," she said as she smiled at him. "Professor Minerva McGonagal, you may call me Minerva."

"I'm Katherine," Remus' mother said as she and Minerva shook hands. "Remus' is a very special case. It's very urgent that we speak to Professor Dumbledore right away. If we don't, it may interfere with his being able to come to school with the other children, or coming to school at all."

"Mrs. Lupin, every parent thinks that their child's case is urgent," Minerva said calmly. "I'm afraid that, unless you are a little more specific about his uniqueness, I won't be able to help you. What could possible come in the way of young Remus here coming to school?"

There was a stiff silence, Jonathan and Katharine were looking at one another, and Minerva was giving them both questioning looks. Remus looked down at his feet, knowing that they were going to tell this strange woman, who knew nothing about him, except for his name, what was so unique about him.

Remus James Lupin was, indeed, a very unique child. Once every month he was locked up in the house while his parents left for the night to stay at a hotel. When they returned in the morning the house would be a mess inside. Pictures and furniture a like would be torn to pieces and lying on the floor with Remus in the middle of it.

With a quick wave of his wand, Jonathan was always able to fix it up, and so it would be for three nights in a row every month. Remus was a werewolf, he had been bitten as a child, and that was why he and his parents had come to the school early. To tell the headmaster about their son's condition.

"Remus is…" Jonathan began; he looked down at his son, and bit his lip. Remus was still looking at his feet. He didn't want to see the look of horror that would be on Minerva's face. "…he is…"

"I'm a werewolf ma'am," Remus said in a quiet voice, he heard a gasp, and turned his head away from her.

"I…I…," Minerva said, she stared at the boy, before regaining a little of her composure. "I'm sorry; I'll show you to his office." She turned and started to walk down the hall. "This way please."

"Come on son," Jonathan said to Remus as he followed. Remus did as he was told, and followed after the three adults.

After a while they came to a statue of an eagle (?). They stood around it, and Remus wondered what they were doing. Weren't they going to see the headmaster? If so, why were they standing in front of a statue?

"Open," Minerva said, and Remus gasped as he saw the statue begin to turn, as if it were being unscrewed. Then stairs began to rise from the floor. "This leads to Dumbledore's office. Usually we have a different password, but since there are only teacher to talk to him right now, it's simple."

"Thank you Minerva," Jonathan said as he stepped forward onto the moving stairs. Remus and Katherine followed him, and soon they found themselves in front of an oaken door with a griffin knocker. "Do you want to wait out here Remus?"

"No, I want to go in," Remus said as he looked at the door, trying to imagine what this Dumbledore guy was going to look like. "I want to try and convince him to let me come, if I have too."

"Okay," Jonathan said as he turned to face the door. He gave Katherine a quick glance. "If that's what you want, then we won't make you wait out here."

"It is," Remus said as he, too, turned to look at the door. He chewed on his lower lip as his father knocked on the door. "This is it."


	2. Chapter 1

1**Chapter One**

Authors' Note: Hi there. Yes, this is the official first chapter. They're surprisingly long, considering I (Nyxie) had anything to do with it (snicker). Well, yes…Alas, Rae isn't around to comment, so we'll get on. Oh, by the way, we made up a gypsy language. To find out what is being said, take the letter opposite to the one you're reading in the alphabet. For example: a becomes z, b becomes y, c becomes x. Except 'wolf' when Ophelia gets to know Remus better. Then it's 'drai'. Don't ask why, I don't know. Get it? Good.

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Remus sat with his legs crossed and a book in his lap. His head was bent, and he was looking down at the book. It was about lycanthropy. His eyes sped across the pages quickly. He was a quick reader, because... - well, when one goes through much of their life with out many friends they tend to read a lot.

The compartment door slid open very quietly and soft footsteps padded into the almost-empty alcove. A light, feminine gasp emitted slightly parted pink lips and Ophelia Grey dropped a very heavy book that lay in her arms.

"Oy…S-so sorry…" marginally dark cheeks flushed ridiculously so as the young woman fumbled in an attempt to collect herself and her tome again.

"Um," Remus said, feeling a little uncomfortable, he wasn't good with girls…actually; he wasn't really good with _anyone_. "T-that's okay…can I help you…?"

He glanced at her quickly, and looked away from her. He didn't want her to think he was being rude.

Dark green eyes widened a little as she looked to him. She squinted a little before shaking her head and offered a smile. Pearly white teeth showed when she showed that small, warm gesture, "Oh, well…would you be so kind as to let me stay in here? I really…there are far too many people on this silly locomotive…"

"No, I don't mind," Remus said as he grabbed up the few things lying around him. He put them in his trunk, and was about to take it down. "I'll see you…at the Sorting I suppose…"

"Oh, I didn't mean to ask you to leave!" she shook her head, bouncing up and dropping the book again in a rush to stop him. She reached out to touch him – internally, her mind screamed a bit, but she ignored it and did not proffer a sign that she was in any way offended by his existence – to touch his arm and let him know it was all right.

"Really…It's my first year…" she shook her head a little, "I know you know that…but…Oh, gods, I'm terrible at talking to people…what I mean is…"

Taking her hand off his arm, she extended it to him, "Ophelia Grey…Would you…care to stay?"

Remus stared at her hand for a moment, what he supposed to do again…? Oh yeah. He took her hand, and shook it saying, "Um, if you don't mind…My name is Lupin, Remus Lupin."

Nodding once again, she shook his hand for a moment longer before slipping her hand from his grasp and bending down yet again for her book. "I'm really a terrible klutz…Hmm...so, where are you from?"

"England," He pulled his book back out of his trunk, he didn't want to talk anymore. Talking made him uncomfortable. He sat down in his chair, and began to flip through the book for the page he'd been on before he tried to leave. He found it, and began to skim for his place on the page.

"I..." she began, looking up at him as she stood up straight, her book in her arms. Smiling a little, she plopped down on the bench across from him, "We're still in England…so…really. Hmm, are you from London?"

Her voice was heavily laced with a thick accent, smoothing out the 'r's and 'l's. Her school uniform was among the things in the trunk that floated in behind her, and she was dressed in a rather peculiar outfit. Several layers of different colored skirts floated about her legs and a shirt that was tight enough to look like a second skin clung to her upper half. A string of red fabric was woven throughout her long, curling black hair and random bangles went almost all the way up her right arm, and a few decorated her left wrist. Heavy necklaces, one that seemed to be strung with acorns and some sort of…teeth…adorned her long, slender neck.

"Hey, this one is empty!" Someone sang through the - now open - compartment door. A boy with shaggy black hair was smiling at the two. "They seem lonely; let's join 'em."

Without even bothering to ask if they minded the boy plopped down next to Ophelia, and grinned at her. Remus watched as the boy shamelessly took in his companion's body. Remus stared at his book, but was no longer reading.

"Oh, so you're going to make me bring the trunks in here on my own, are you," Said another boy with hair that looked like it have been haphazardly stuck to his head it was so messy. The trunks floated in behind him, and glided up to the rack. "You don't mind do you?" The boy directed at Lupin, who didn't really have time to respond before the messy-haired boy continued, "Good!"

The boy followed the first's lead in plopping down without permission, only next to Remus rather than Ophelia.

The aforementioned young woman cleared her throat and scooted a little away from the first boy, propping her book up in her lap to cover herself from his roaming eyes.

"That was quite a bit rude of you," her accent seemed heavier – when she was angry, did the hardness on her syllables intensify? "I am Ophelia Grey…This young man," Ophelia smiled, gesturing towards Remus, sweeping her eyes across him before moving them to the boy beside her, "Is Remus Lupin…"

The way she said his name sounded like 'Loo. Pin.' but Remus was another story entirely. 'Rrrrrrrey. Moose.' It sounded entirely too…ahem, _adult _for such a young girl's speech. Ah well, so is life.

"And you?" Raising a thin black eyebrow at the boy beside her, she seemed hardly amused that he had rooted himself where he had.

"You don't remember me?" the boy asked looking highly offended. "She doesn't remember me James! I remember you, you were in my dreams last night, but as you're pretending not to remember, it's Black, Sirius Black."

The way he said it was entirely different from how Remus had. Where Remus had sounded as though he questioned whether it was his name or not, Sirius sounded like he was introducing a super hero.

Ophelia rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Her features loosened and a smile graced her lips again, "Oh, Merlin's beard! _Now _I remember you! You were the most _incompetent_ dreamer I ever ran into. And that line was the worst thing I've ever heard. The next time you check me out, make sure you're a little more subtle. Oh, and try something…as far as pick-up lines go? Try one with a little more class. I mean, _really_."

Sirius shrugged his shoulders undaunted by her comeback, though his cheeks brightened slightly.

"Oh well," Sirius said as he pulled a chocolate frog from his pocket. "I can't please everyone."

"Aww!" she smiled, reaching over and pinching his cheek gently, "You're so cuuuute when you blush! See, that's the way to a woman's heart. Let her make a fool of you…it's so very endearing."

Sirius was stunned for a moment before he decided to move the attention elsewhere. James was snickering behind his hand. Sirius shot him a dirty look.

"So, your book," Sirius said talking to Remus. "It's more interesting than us? What is it?"

"A book," Remus said looking up. "I get the impression anything can be more entertaining than you, you're rather rude to be honest…and that isn't very entertaining."

Ophelia clapped quietly, mocking Sirius quite openly as well as the whole…British-accent-thing, "Jolly good show, my dear man. It's quite true…I do believe my book might be minutely more interesting than you are…and you!"

She pointed an accusing finger in James' snickering direction, though she had a look of amusement on her face, "You forgot to tell us your name. I can only think of so many ways of saying 'hey you'. Most of which I don't think the three of you would understand, it being in…"

She stopped, about to say the name of an old gypsy language. Instead, she continued after reassuring herself, "…a different language entirely."

"It's James Potter," he said with a smile. "Sirius gave my first name earlier, so…" he turned to Remus, drawing him - unwillingly on Remus' part - back into the conversation. "What is you're book about?"

"Werewolves," Remus said without looking up, but he wasn't reading.

"Oh," James said as he gave Sirius a look that said quite plainly "he's weird". "That's…different. Aren't werewolves devils of some kind?"

The young woman across from Remus visibly tensed at the mention of the word, "Werewolves are heathens – evil, cursed beings that should be struck from the earth with all the vengeance that may be mustered…"

Her eyes clouded with tears and she glared at the book in her lap. Standing quickly, the book crashed to the floor for the third time. This time, however, the cover disconnected itself from the binding, flying to Remus' feet.

"Except one…" her voice sounded quite defeated. The entire time she had been speaking, her accent was almost too heavy to understand, and one or two words had slipped into her other language.

Turning from the three of them in a flurry of multi-colored skirts, she rushed through the door.

"No they're not," Remus said almost inaudibly, but he became less shy as he continued. He snapped the book he was holding shut. "They're not! They're unfortunate victims of other unfortunate people. Now, if you'll excuse me."

He stood up, and walked over to the compartment door, and he shut it softly he heard James say, "I didn't mean to offend him about his fetish. Or...her about his fetish, I suppose."

Even more annoyed he turned and walked into the crying form of Ophelia. She looked at him with teary eyes, but his tinge of sympathy was squashed as he remembered what she had said. He glared at her before pushing past her. Without looking back he rushed down the corridor to the restroom.

He locked the door, and sat on the toilet. He was stupid for considering the possibility of making friends with such people. Though he bit his lip with the strain of holding them back, the tears flowed down his cheeks.

"Dlou…" Ophelia glared in the direction that he had gone, shooting daggers with her gaze that landed pointedly in the wood of the door he had disappeared behind.

Standing up from her huddled position, she moved down the corridor towards the boys' bathroom. Balling her hand into a fist, she hit the door with her knuckles. She toyed with the idea of pounding on it, but she…as much as the fact that she knew _what he was _pushed her to her limits of kindness, she also had this underlying desire to…reach him. She couldn't exactly explain it, and she was rationalizing, but she couldn't help herself.

"Re-mus," she scratched out, her voice thick with tears. She didn't sound weak in her emotionally upset state, she simply sounded…exhausted.

He looked at the door, knowing who it was, he didn't want to talk to her, so he didn't. Instead he began to toy with the wallpaper that was beginning to part with the wall.

"I..." she started, but clenched her jaw.

"I can't say sorry to a Dlou," she murmured, almost hoping he didn't hear her.

"What did you call me?" drifted almost silently through the door.

"A w-..Well, a boy," she raised an eyebrow, biting her lip and hoping he bought it. "What I mean is…well, I'm s-…so-…Sorry." She hurriedly finished the sentence, letting out a heavy breath. "I'm _sorry_, Remus."

Something inside her broke as she said those words and she shook her head before leaning her forehead on the door.

Thinking quickly, she continued, "I don't…know why you take the side of the Dv-…err…werewolves, but…I'm _sorry _that what I said…bothered you. I should've respected your opinion more and not let my personal...err…feelings on the subject obscure what I said so harshly."

The door opened a little, and their eyes met as she moved forward against it. He blinked at her a moment.

"Do you mean it?" he said as he narrowed his eyes.

"Do I mean I'm s-…sorry? Yes, I do…and…the way I feel about Dv-…werewolves…There's a lot of…" she stopped, looked down and straightened herself, leaning against the doorframe. Looking up at him, she only held her gaze on his eyes for a moment. Soon she was looking beyond him, lost in thought, "A lot of…prejudice towards them where I come from. It's extremely difficult for me to think of them in a positive light, especially…"

Stopping, she shook her head, "There's something very personal that happened to…_someone I know_ and it also clouds my judgment."

Remus toyed with the idea that she had the same problem as him, but dispelled it almost immediately.

"Okay, I believe you," Remus said decisively. "Now, if you would be kind enough to move I would like to get out of the restroom..."

"You don't like being cornered by a beautiful young trho?" She smiled, shaking her head a little as she stepped back. "I mean…girl. And, I'm not conceded…I was going to add something in there about that Sirius lad's opinion, but it just didn't sound good…"

"I see," Remus said with a slight smile. "Well, it's not that I mind…or that I don't think you're pretty or something, but I really _would _like to get out of here."

"I'll remember that," she winked at him, moving away from him to let him out. "Do you want to go back…there? Or, stay…what's the word…"

She paused, tapping her temple briefly, "Oh! Or, would you like to stay abroad?"

"I don't know if that's how one should use the word, but no. I'm fine with returning," Remus said as he came out of the restroom.

"It very well might not be…Obviously, vmtorhs is…err, English, is not my first language…Your name…" She smiled, leading the way back to the compartment, "is Ivnfh Ofkrm. Ophelia Grey isn't mine, but I won't bore you anymore…"

"Oh, I'm not bored," Remus said rather abruptly, he blushed heavily, and turned his head away. "You're more interesting than that insensitive, rude, cheeky, incessant…"

"Sirius, I found 'em!" James said as he leaned out the compartment door. Remus blushed, knowing that James had heard him. When he glanced up the ebony haired boy winked. "Don't worry," James continued in an undertone. "Sometimes I feel the same way."

Ophelia bit her tongue, cheeks reddening as well when she looked up at Remus.

"Lksvrz Tivbyzxp," she murmured close to Remus ear, smiling at him.

"Your name?" Remus asked quietly, she nodded her head. "I like it."

She blushed even more as he said that, shaking her head and looking down.

"Come along," James chuckled, waving his arm to direct the two towards the compartment that Sirius was sticking his head out of. "Lovebirds."

"Olev z dlou?" the girl murmured, raising an eyebrow at the thought as she meandered behind James, beside Remus.

"We're not that crazy," Remus said, misinterpreting the meaning of what she had said, as he walked into the compartment.

Looking at him curiously before laughing, "I…Yes. That's _exactly_ what I said. You catch on fast, Ivnfh."

Remus smiled shyly, and his cheeks were tinged with pink.

"I'm sorry," James said as he smiled at the two with a confused expression. "I have no idea what's going on right now, but I didn't mean to offend anybody…Ivanof?"

"You know that means 'I want to bare your children', right?" she snickered, glancing from Remus to James and back again, offering a small wink to the former.

"I'm sorry James, but…uh…I prefer the female half of our species," Remus said as he winked at Ophelia. "I don't know about Sirius though."

"Yes James, I think I should tell you," Sirius said with the most serious look on his face. "I've been in love with you for a great many years."

"But you have only known me for half a day, barely that," James said.

"Yes, but I loved you long before I knew you," Sirius said.

Unable to contain her laughter, Ophelia gave a bemused look to Sirius, "You saw him in your dreams, right?"

"How did you know," Sirius said with mock surprise.

"I was there, _remember_?" the only female in the company snickered, shaking her head.

"I love someone else though, Sirius," James said, a dreamy look came across his face. "I don't even know her name yet. She had nice eyes though."

"Eyes? Somehow I doubt that's what you were looking at," Ophelia grinned, leading the way into the compartment and sitting down. The rest of the self-appointed group wandered in behind her and took their original seats.

"So anyway," James said as he took the seat by the window. "I decree the two of you our official friends, whether you like it or-"

All at once, the trained lurched dangerously, sending a shocked Ophelia across the compartment and to Remus' feet.

Sirius had landed on his side with his head on James' lap. He turned so he was looking up at his friend. He winked, and sat up. Remus stared, did Sirius just kiss James?

"Oh my…" Remus stuttered as he stared at the two. "Merlin's…"

"Don't worry," Sirius said as he got up, and walked over to Remus. "I did this."

He placed his thumbs over the stunned boy's lips, and kissed them - the thumbs, obviously. He pulled away, winked and said, "Now you know my secret." Before walking back to his seat.

Remus looked at Ophelia, still a little confused.

"Somehow I don't think this will be the last time I'm at your feet," she murmured in her own language, looking up at him, cheeks tainted with a deep red blush. Her hands settled on his knees subconsciously.

Remus wanted to say something witty like, "You're not going to propose or something" but when he opened his mouth the words that stumbled out were more like what he would usually say.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked, as he looked away from her, and out the window.

"Pardon me," she murmured, using his knees to help herself stand. She was blushing something furious as she dusted her skirts off, "Oh…and, yes, thank you for asking. You're a very…err… _sturdy_ individual…"

Remus took what she said in entirely the wrong way, and began to flush a color that challenged her own.

Her fingers skimmed his knee again and her skirts seemed to try and kidnap his pant leg as she moved back to her seat, causing her to trip and fall. Again.

"Ufxp," she cursed, glaring at the floor. "I told you," she smiled, tugging her hair out of her face as she turned to look at Remus, "I'm a complete klutz."

Sirius rushed over, and extended his hand…which she refused.

Shrugging his shoulders, he took his seat once more.

"Thank you for the offer," she murmured, standing on her own, "But I can manage…I think, perhaps, we should change before we arrive…The three of you can have the compartment…"

Moving to her trunk, she removed a neatly pressed uniform and moved to the door, "Perhaps you'll get lucky some day, Sirius, as I do have an inkling of what you're thinking."

Winking, she soon disappeared. Really, she had wanted to put Remus' name there…but, alas, that damned past of hers got in the way.


	3. Chapter 2

1**Chapter Two**

Authors' Note: Yeah.

Disclaimer:…Why do you insist that we continually renounce the claim on our one true love? We don't own _Harry Potter_. Period.

"You like her, don't you Remus," Sirius whispered as Remus tried to pull on his pants with out them seeing his legs.

The question was so unexpected that Remus tried to look up, and tried to put his leg into his pant leg at the same time, resulting in him losing his balance, and falling over.

"No…I mean yes…well no…" Remus muttered blushing severely as he stood up. "I like her, but…I don't know…maybe not _that_ way."

"Maybe not that way," James inquired with his eyebrow raised. "Meaning you do, right?"

Remus shrugged off the question, and successfully finished dressing without falling over this time.

Ophelia tried not to laugh on the other side of the door as she knocked. She was blushing something awful, and part of her was jumping up and down at the _thought of him possibly liking her_…but…he couldn't, could he? And, more importantly, _she_ couldn't. _Couldn't_…or…shouldn't?

"Boys? If you aren't done, you take an awful long time. Or did you start playing strip poker without me?"

"Come in and find out," Sirius said suggestively.

"Shut up Sirius," James said half laughing. "It's safe…well…as safe as it can _be_ with Sirius here."

"Oh, too bad," she smiled broadly as she opened the compartment door, her previous outfit spilling out of her arms. She approached her trunk and kicked it open with her left foot, hobbling on her right precariously.

"Do you think they'll make me take off my jewelry?" she raised an eyebrow, stuffing her clothes haphazardly back into the container she had withdrawn the ones that she now wore from.

"Probably not," Sirius said, as he looked from one part of her to her jewelry.

"No," Remus said as he blushed again, wondering if she had heard the conversation they'd been having before she entered. "I've read the rules."

"Of course you have," James sniggered, plopping down beside the window again.

"Thank you, Remus," Ophelia smiled, ignoring James' comment as she closed her trunk. "Sirius, stop looking at me. Now."

"Huh," Sirius said looking up at her face. "Um... I wasn't looking…"

"Don't lie," Remus said almost inaudibly. Sirius glared at him, though there was a smile on his face.

"You know Remus," James said as he tilted his head to look at his new friend as though trying to read him like a book. "You shouldn't be so afraid to be yourself, we won't laugh…well…unless you're _trying _to make us laugh."

"I won't laugh," Ophelia smiled warmly, bending down to straighten her sock. Without looking at Sirius, she murmured a warning, "Don't you _dare_ think about it, Sirius."

"I _wasn't_," Sirius said as he turned to look at Remus instead. "Anyway, we'll accept you for who you are, mate."

"What if I don't _want_ you to except me," Remus muttered to himself, he was feeling uncomfortable again. He wasn't sure if he wanted to trust them enough to be himself in front of them.

Ophelia opened her mouth to say something as she stood up, but stopped as she saw Remus' expression.

"Very well," she murmured, nodding to him in a sort of secret understanding. "Anyway," she said, much louder and more commanding, "Have you three heard about the different houses? I'd like to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw…That Slytherin crowd…They sound pretty zdufo…err…awful."

"I don't care where I go," Remus said as he picked up his book, and toyed with the spine. "I'm just glad to be going to Hogwarts, to be…" He looked up to see Sirius and James looking surprised. "I'm from…Ireland, my parents moved here so I could come, they didn't want to, but when I told them how much I wanted to go here, they gave in."

Ophelia raised her pointer finger as if to point out the falsity of that statement, but instead she smiled at Remus and nodded, "Oh yes, Ireland…I remember you telling me about Galway. It sounds like a lovely place, really. It's too bad your family isn't there any more – if they were, I would have a reason to visit."

After she had finished her thought, she realized exactly what that implied…which made her blush profusely. Quickly she dropped to her knees beside her book and took out her wand.

"Funny," James said as his brows furrowed. "You don't sound like you're Irish."

"Well," Remus said venturing for an explanation. "I…."

"He adapts quickly," Ophelia smiled, shrugging a little. "Pardon me a moment…"

Tapping the book gently, she murmured, "_Repairo_." The binding seemed to suck the pages back to it, as well as the cover, and it looked as good as new.

She hoped that would take their minds off of Remus'…lack-of-accent for a little bit.

"Well," Remus said, grateful that she had given him a moment to think of something. "Actually I moved here when I was young, so I developed a British accent from being around so many of them…A little while later we moved back to Ireland."

"Oh…You forgot to mention that," her eyes told him, subtly, that he had some explaining to do, but she simply smiled as she moved to put her book into her trunk.

"The train shall be arriving at Hogsmeade station in a few minutes," the voice of the conductor boomed through out the train. "Those who have not changed into their school uniform should do so now. Remember to leave your luggage on the train, and I hope everyone has enjoyed the journey."

"Blf szev ml rwvz," Ophelia grinned, murmuring to herself after she latched her trunk shut and plopped herself atop it.

"Finally," Sirius said as he leaned back in his seat. "I was getting hun-"

Someone squealed, and the four looked at the door to see a girl looking at Sirius. She blushed and ran off.

"You know, she was rather cute," Sirius said with a smirk. "Excuse me a moment."

He stood up, and left the compartment.

Ophelia's eyes lit up with a malicious spark, "Oh…I have a _magnificent_ idea…Anyone care to watch?"

Standing up, the dark haired individual made her way to the door, popping her head out, "Oh Sirius, darling…Where're you off to?"

"This should be entertaining," James said as he stood up, and walked to the compartment door. "Oh, and Remus…you don't have to lie to us. If you don't want to talk about something, just tell us, okay?"

James winked, and left Remus staring after him. He had never met someone so clever who didn't treat him like he didn't deserve friendship.

"Uh, wait up," Remus called as he stood up, and followed the ebony haired boy.

"Sirius…" Ophelia pouted, moving about the train and peaking in compartments. "Aha! I found you!" She grinned, peeping her head around a partially opened door.

"Oh! Sirius!" she squealed, a frown stealing her smile, "How _could _you!"

Sirius looked up from where he was sitting with his arm draped across the girl's shoulders.

"Ophelia?" Sirius said, his eyes widening with warning.

"I thought you _loved me_! You said…don't you remember, Sirius? Don't you remember last night? You said you had a dream about me! Oh Sirius!" Her hands moved up to her face, covering her eyes. She was trying so hard not to laugh…

She turned, and rushed from the room, stopping a little away from the compartment to listen to what the result of her…joke would be.

"Honest," she could hear Sirius saying. "I have no idea what she's talking about. I don't even know-"

_Smack_!

"Get out of here you..._womanizer_!"

Ophelia was half-surprised that the other girls knew that word - actually, _she_ didn't. Woman-izer...? Funny English.

The door opened, and he was pushed out by the hands of the many girls in the compartment.

After he overcame the initial shock, he turned to Ophelia and said, "I don't like you."

"Oh, sweetheart…" she murmured, moving towards him. Resting a hand on either side of his face, she leaned in. Quickly, before actually kissing him, she covered his lips with her thumbs. Making it appear like a heavy snogging session, she waited a moment before pulling away to whisper in his ear, "I know your secret too."

Remus caught up with James just as Ophelia was leaning over Sirius.

"Uh Lupin, you shouldn't…" James began, but…

"No, no," Remus said with a smile on his face. "I want to see…"

His eyes widened as Ophelia's hair moved to block the view enough to cause a misunderstanding.

Remus' lips pressed together, and he turned. Walking back to the compartment without a sound.

"Oy, Remus," James called, but the boy being spoken to didn't seem to acknowledge the words.

"Remus?" Ophelia raised an eyebrow, turning from Sirius. "Oh…"

_I like her, but…I don't know…maybe not _that_ way_…Ophelia frowned, turning from Sirius and rushing back to the compartment. Leaning in the doorway, she sighed a little, "Remus…Please, listen…? You probably...don't…care-"

"What," Remus said as he closed the lid to his trunk. He looked her in the eyes, but looked away as he continued. "I missed what happened, I needed to put my book away."

"D-…" she stopped, shaking her head. Moving into the compartment, she shut the door behind her and leaned against it. "Don't lie to me, Remus. James called after you…What…what happened with Sirius?…Do you remember when he fell and we thought he kissed James? You know, with the thumb thing? _That's_ what I did. We were right in front of the compartment with all those girls…It was for show. Really…He's…"

Smiling a little, she tilted her head, "Cheeky, like you said."

"Oh, is that what I missed," Remus said refusing to let go of the lie. "I'm sure that caused quite a stir." He still wasn't looking at her. "I thought I heard James calling for me…"

"Remus…" she nibbled her lip, stepping forward. Reaching out, she brushed her hand against his shoulder. She couldn't bring herself to touch his face.

"Ivnfh.." she smiled, bending down so that she could catch his eyes. "Really. I promise. _That's all_."

"I know, I heard you the first-"

"Oy, Ophelia!"

She turned around to see and annoyed Sirius.

"First you kiss me then you go mess around with Remus, you're cheating on me, but…" He walked around, and kissed her before she could do anything. He winked. "I won't let you get away from me…and that was payback."

"No, Sirius…" She reached out, grabbing his collar gently. She glanced at Remus once, frowning a little, before she turned back to Sirius and tugged him towards her. Kissing him a little…_too_ intently, she breathed, "_That_ is payback. You're terrible, you know."

"Yes," Remus whispered so only Ophelia would hear. "It was nothing, right?" He walked past the two. "Congratulations Sirius, I think you have a girlfriend."

With that he left the compartment.

"Hey Sirius," James said, the shaggy haired boy looked at him, stunned. James hit him on the head. "Have I ever told you that you're an idiot?"

This time Remus was able to hold the tears back. So what if Sirius was going out with Ophelia? So what if they didn't make a good pair? So what if he liked her more, and knew it? They would figure it out soon enough.

"Hey, are you okay," someone said from above him.

Remus was sitting on the floor in front of the door so he would be the first off when they came to the station. He looked up to see a girl with red hair, and brilliant green eyes.

"Yes," Remus said a little too defensively. "I mean…yeah." He added a little more quietly. "I'm fine."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"James," Ophelia whispered, tugging at his sleeve as they wandered towards the castle doors. She was ignoring the ooh-ing and ahh-ing of Sirius at her side. "Can I…talk to you?"

"Of course," James said as he tore his eyes away from the red head in front of them who was with Remus. "What about?"

Ophelia's eyes were in the same place – though she was _not _looking adoringly at the young woman that walked with Remus. In fact, she was sending every gypsy curse that way she had learned since birth.

"Umm...Sirius," Ophelia murmured, slipping her fingers from Sirius' grasp, "I need to talk to James about…uuhh…a spell, right? We'll be back in a minute."

"Aw," Sirius said pouting slightly; she could tell that there wasn't much seriousness behind it. "Okay, you better not try to steal her from me James."

"You don't have to worry about that Sirius," James said, his eyes having wandered back to the redhead.

Taking James by the arm, she pulled him to the side of the crowd and back a little, so no one could really hear her.

"James…I don't know what to do," she murmured, looking up at him before glancing to Remus and then to her hands. "I…All right, let me start off by asking – when I was changing, did Remus say anything…about…liking me?"

"Why," James said evasively. "Do you like him, or something?"

"More than…" she stopped, biting her lip. Her cheeks flushed and she looked up at him pleadingly, "More than I should by any stretch of the imagination…Please tell me, James."

"Why shouldn't you," James asked, continuing to dodge the other half of what she had said.

"It's…a long story…A bit of a family problem…Would you just tell me?" she glanced towards Remus again, a pang of something hitting her when she saw the red head turn. She was awfully pretty. It wasn't fair. She had beautiful, porcelain skin, and that hair…Ophelia could never have that. _That's probably why he didn't care_…_Stupid dsliv_.

"Look," James said as his look bore into her eyes. "I won't say anything about it, I don't want you to feel guilty, not that you for sure have a reason, but I will say this. If you like Remus you should let Sirius and Remus know. They have a right to know, after all."

"But…I _can't_…I can't like him," she murmured, looking up at him with something like tears glimmering in her eyes. "This is stupid…I hardly know him…I shouldn't _care_…"

"You can't help who you like," James said as his eyes wandered over to the redhead again.

"He won't listen to me, you know," she frowned, sighing heavily. "I mean…Why should he? What's so great that he would want to? He has no reason to trust me…Merlin's beard, James! This is the first day and I'm already in trouble."

"Do you think he can decide who he likes any more than you?" James said with a smile. "If he likes you as much as you can't like him then he won't be able to hate you for very long, trust me."

"I just…don't know…I do know one thing, though…" she looked up at him before punching him playfully in the shoulder, "You should talk to that redheaded girl, if only to get her away from Remus."

"Hey," Sirius called from a little away form them. "What are you guys doing, snogging? Hurry up!"


	4. Chapter 3

1**A/N: Hello, this is Rae. Since I have the chapters I'm going to be doing the editing, which means that all the author notes are left in my care…unless Nyx would like to add something…Nyx: -adds- Muahaha.**

**Disclaimer: Ha! And again, ha!**

"Sirius," Ophelia whispered, leaning against him as they meandered towards their seats at the Gryffindor table, "I…hmm…Yeah. All right, you're a relatively good snog, but…I don't like you like this…"

" Are you breaking up with me?" Sirius asked, she nodded. " It lasted for almost an hour…that's the longest it's lasted yet! Yay, a new record!"

"I also wanted to let you know…don't _ever_ kiss me in front of Remus – or _anyone_, for that matter – again. I'm serious."

" No _I'm_ Sirius," the self-proclaimed boy said. " Having an identity crisis are we? Well you should tell Remus that there is no longer a _we_ so he can sit with us again."

"I have every intention of doing so…believe me…." With a grin, she started away.

" So, you _are_ in love with him," Sirius said with a smile. " Well, now you two can be together, I'm happy for you."

"Sirius…if you _ever_ mention our 'relationship' again…I will castrate you. I'm ser-... not joking," she offered a smile, turning to find Remus – and running squarely into a certain red head.

Behind her Sirius said, " I don't know what that k-word means, but I don't like the sound of it."

" Hi," the red head said, was she giving Ophelia an evil look, or was that just her imagination? " Excuse me."

The girl pushed past her so forcefully that Ophelia fell into someone's arms…Remus'.

Remus didn't look at her, but allowed her to stand rather than drop her – which he was slightly tempted to do.

"Err...I'm sorry?" she looked at the girl before turning to Remus. "You are _exactly_ the person I wanted to talk to. And don't even think of walking away or interrupting me."

The grin that she had faded a little, "Okay, Remus, here's what happened….That whole…Sirius thing? Okay, right…right, this is going to get weird….Well, I like you, okay? I'm not supposed to – it's a long story – so, I figured Sirius was giving me a way out. Then I talked to James…and…wow, that guy is…I don't know. Anyway, I talked to him and…well, now I'm talking to you.

"I…_really _do like you," she continued, returning to the topic at hand. "You probably hate me because of the whole…tell-you-one-thing-do-another…but...I really, really, really, _really_ am sorry. And I like you. Really."

Inhaling deeply, she looked up at him with flushed cheeks and an apologetic smile. The tears were back, but only in her eyes. She would _not _cry over this…at least not in public. She'd just met him, this was bad. Bad. Baaaad, I tell you.

" Oh, well," he began, the anger in his eyes left, but happiness didn't rush into them as Ophelia had expected it to. She caught the sadness filling in them before Remus looked at the floor. " If you feel like you shouldn't like me, I guess we shouldn't…well…it probably wouldn't…I like you, but…I don't think…we should just stay friends…is that…er…okay with you?"

"Ml, Ivnfh…Rg rhm'g," she murmured, biting her lip and furiously wiping a hand over her cheek for the tear could really be seen by much of anyone. Bowing her head a little, she turned from him, pushed passed Sirius, and made her way towards the complete other end of the Great Hall. Where was that bathroom again?

" I'll take that as a no, shall I," Remus said quietly as he turned to sit down. "She's right, I catch on quickly, maybe _too_ quickly for my own good."

"What's that Remus?" Sirius said as he sat next to him.

"Nothing," Remus said as he looked at the food in front of him, realizing that he had lost his appetite at some point.

"I'm not even eleven," Ophelia muttered, kicking at the ground as she made her way to the bathroom. It looked like it hadn't been used in ages, or so she thought, as she meandered into it.

"Who are you?" asked a shaky, tear-filled voice as Ophelia pushed a stall door open.

Jumping, Ophelia looked at – or more correctly, _through _– a young woman with glasses and chin-length black hair. Then again, there were only three colors to the spectral. Black, white, and gray.

"Uuhh…I'm…Ophelia? Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Myrtle," the ghost replied, floating towards the dark girl.

"Oh….That's a _flower_, isn't it? I wonder if-" Ophelia stopped.

"If what?"

"If Remus likes them," Ophelia looked up at the dark eyes of the spirit, but looked away quickly and shut the stall door behind her. Oh yeah, doors really…don't stop ghosts.

" Lily," James said, letting the name fill him up. He shivered, and a smile spread over his face. " She gives me shivers, and I mean the _good_ kind."

" I don't think she likes you very much," Remus said as he looked over at the aforementioned girl. She was glaring at James almost every five seconds.

" Oh, thank you Remus," James said sarcastically. " You really know how to make a guy feel like he has a chance with a girl he accidentally…"

" Are you sure it was an accident?" Sirius was laughing so hard tears were rolling down his cheeks. " Don't answer that." He looked around as he wiped his cheeks dry. " I wonder where Wolf-Hater went."

" She doesn't '_hate_ _wolves_'," Remus said abruptly. " She just…it's complicated…you shouldn't assume things like that." Remus looked at the portrait hole. " I'm going to bed, I want to be awake for class tomorrow."

Standing up, he made his way towards the portrait hole. About half way there, James cleared his throat, "Oy, mate…bed is the _other_ way."

" I know," Remus said defensively. "I was going to the water closet."

He turned, and left the common room.

" Definitely not Irish," James said with a smile.

" I thought he said he was," Sirius said looking confused.

" Sirius, have I ever told you that you're an idiot?"

" Yes."

" Well, I think you need reminding."

Wiping her cheeks with a passion, Ophelia began up the staircase to the Gryffindor tower, not watching where she was going.

"Stupid," she muttered in her native tongue, continuing on a rant about her heritage, her father, and her past…._And_ her stupid emotions – she wasn't even a teenager yet. She wasn't even, really, a _pre-teen_.

Someone grabbed her arm to stop her from falling down the stairs before she even knew she was falling.

" Sorry," that voice was familiar, very familiar. " I wasn't watching where I was going."

After pulling her upright Remus passed her without saying anything else.

"You didn't stop me the first time," she murmured, watching him as her eyes filled with tears again. Plopping down on the stairs, she watched him continue down, "Why'd you bother now?"

" Because I never meant to hurt you," Remus said without elaborating, knowing that he needn't say anymore.

"You didn't….It's _really_ all my father's fault," she said, a slight twinge of bitterness in her voice. She shrugged some, though he couldn't see her, and she rested her elbows on her knees.

" Well," Remus said as he turned to look at her. " I don't know what your father has to do with this, but he's not the only problem. I have some issues of my own, and…well…really only one, but it's something that I can't change. I'm sorry Ophelia, I like you, but…I can't let us become more than friends. Like I said a moment ago; I don't want to hurt you."

With that he turned, and began to walk away.

Jumping up, she made her way down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Stumbling a little, she slid. Her butt bumped down a few stairs before she landed at his side. Looking up at him she bit her lip, "I…"

"What are you two doing out of your common room at this time of the night? You're first years, aren't you? Well, I can give you a _bit_ of lee-way."

"Oh…" Ophelia started, biting her lip. "I…ehh…fell?"

" I went to use the restroom, Professor McGonagal," Lupin said, smiling sheepishly. " I kind of got lost."

"And I was on my way back from that exact place…Well, not exact, because I'm a girl and all…but…you know…" Ophelia jumped up, moaning a little as her left leg gave. "Ooh…Ow?"

Remus grabbed her arm to prevent her from falling.

" Uh oh," he uttered eyeing her ankle. "I think she twisted it, Professor. Do you mind if we take a detour to the hospital wing?"

" No, not at all," Professor McGonagal said. "Let me show you the way."

" But I…" Remus began, the severe looking professor widened her eyes with warning, and glanced at Ophelia. " oh, thank you."

"Oh, really, Professor," Ophelia smiled, trying to hide the grimace that took hold of her features as she put pressure on her ankle, "I had to make my way there earlier…you know, that time of the month and all…" Her cheeks flushed and she bowed her head as if embarrassed by the subject (really she was trying not to laugh), "So, I know the way. We should be perfectly all right…I mean, if it is all right with you, of course."

" Oh," Professor McGonagal said as she looked down at the girl. " Well then, be on your way, but hurry back to your dormitories so you can get some sleep. First day of classes is tomorrow, you know."

Remus tried to hide the surprise he felt at Ophelia's words. She, too, had a time of the month?

"Thank you, Professor. Don't worry – we'll hurry right back as soon as hurry is possible," she glanced to her ankle before offering a sheepish smile. Taking Remus' arm gently, she turned down the wrong corridor. Professor McGonagal cleared her throat and Ophelia quickly realized and corrected her mistake.

Looking back at her professor she bit her lip, "The pain was fogging my memory for a moment…No worries, really."

McGonagal nodded curtly before turning and making her way back to her office.

Ophelia let out a heavy sigh, "That was a close one….So, where were we in the conversation before my klutziness decided to pop up?"

" I was telling you about how…" Remus let his voice trail off, and he turned to walk down the hall. " We should get you to the Hospital Wing quickly."

"We're on our way and I can only manage to go so very quickly, my dear dloub…errm…yes. Never mind about that…anyway," she paused, clearing her throat. Looking over at Remus, she offered an apologetic smile as she leaned into him for support. "Terribly sorry about the extra luggage…I'd walk on my own two feet if I had the chance…but…back to what I was saying…I…hmm…well, to be honest, I know…what you are."

" Yes, I'm a boy," Remus said nodding his head under the illusion that he knew what she was talking about.

Ophelia snickered, shaking her head, "No…well, you _are_ a boy…at least, I would assume such…but, that wasn't…quite what I was referring to. I had in mind your…slightly…hmm…more controversial side?"

" Oh, you mean like James?" Remus said as he looked at her. " Well, you know. He's not that upset about it really. People have different interests, if this is about my book…"

Ophelia promptly slapped herself on the forehead, running her hand down her face in a sort of defeated manner. "No…well, sort of. The…subject of the book…hmm…All right, I'm just going to say it. I know what you are. I know…you're…a…" _Why can't I just say it? It isn't like I didn't have to say it constantly back home. 'Oh, yes, my father is the one who turns into a wolf every full moon.' 'Yes, he's the one who ate your chickens. Or your children.'_

"Hmm…" she stopped, biting her lip a moment before she looked at him directly. "wolf?"

Remus stopped short, and rounded on her.

" Because you are too, right?" Remus said, his eyes widening, and a smile spreading across his face. " You have a time of the month, too – like you said to McGonagal!"

Covering her face in her hands, she shook her head a little. When she looked at him again she couldn't help but smile, just a smidgen, at his innocence, "N-no, Remus…I do suppose, though, that every woman has a bit of wolf in her with that thinking…I know because…hmm….My father…is…? I don't know how to explain this, Ivnfh."

" So then…_you're_…not?" Remus managed to mutter, he looked away from her so she wouldn't see the disappointment written on his face.

"I could be…" she murmured, almost inaudibly, looking up at him with a sort of smile. "I see my father…when he changes…I visit…him…I…could ask it of him."

" What? N-no…no!" Remus said as he comprehended what she was saying. " No, I couldn't ask that of you. I couldn't ask that of _anyone_. No, we…it would be best if we remained friends…only…permanently."

"Remus," she frowned, shaking her head and running a hand through her hair. "If I had it in me, I would slap some sense into you…but I won't, so….There is _no _reason for us to just be friends even if I'm not…"

" So you don't want to be my friend," Remus said raising his eye brows, and turning away.

"No, Remus, that's _not _what I meant…I meant, I want to be _more_ than friends. I'm eleven, for gods' sakes, I've known you for _three hours maybe_…and I…" Frowning, she shook her head and reached out to touch his arm. "…and I know I need you as more than a friend." There was a very large underlying story that wanted to rip out of her mind and tell itself…but she wouldn't let it. Instead, she hoped he understood the semi-coherent thoughts that slipped out from between her lips.

" This is confusing," Remus said, shaking his head and sighing heavily. "Let's…think about it…later. When we aren't so tired, or…" he looked at her ankle. "wounded."

"I don't…" she sighed heavily and started limping, "Could you please tell me which way it is? I can manage on my own, if you'd rather just go to bed…"

" No, it's fine," Remus said as he reaffirmed his grip on her arm, and turned the next corner.

"Ivnfh," she murmured, continuing on in her native language, "I wish I could tell you this so that you would understand it, but it seems too deep for my eleven-year-old mind to comprehend and you already have a lot on your plate….But I think, perhaps, that I need you."

Remus glanced at her, but decided not to ask her to translate. He stopped, as they had reached the Hospital Wing.

" Well, here it is," Remus said as he opened the door. " I…should get going now. See you tomorrow."

"R mvvw blf, Ivnfh…" Pausing at the door she offered him a sort of nod before looking at him a moment. It was a look that seemed to read him deeper than most looks. With a heavy, restless sigh, the young woman turned from him and began to limp-hop into the sight of Madame Pomfrey.

Remus stared after her for a moment before shaking his head, and turning around.

" Girls are weird."


	5. Chapter 4

1**A/N: Yeah, so we decided that, since Remus and Ophelia were _acting_ like fifteen-year-olds, they could _be_ fifteen-year-olds. Therefore, we skipped straight into their fifth year at Hogwarts.**

**Disclaimer: Is a simple "no" suffice? Good.**

"Girls _are_ weird," Ophelia snickered, shaking her head as she plopped beside James beneath the willow tree. Arms full of books, she glanced over at her fifteen-year-old friend, "I mean, I don't understand how Lily can _not_ adore you. You're just a complete _arse_ to everyone in front of her."

" Well, thank you," James said as he glared at her. " You _really_ know how to make a guy feel great about himself, you know?"

Remus snickered at the comment, and whispered, " Don't I know it," in the gypsy language Ophelia had taught him, but so low that she wouldn't hear.

"You know I love you, James, dahhhling," Ophelia smirked, straightening her skirt a little as she organized her books on either side of her. "Really, though, eventually she'll come 'round, I promise….I know these things…being gypsy, and all."

It was well known that she often made fun of the misgivings about her kind – mind-readers, whores, graceful dancers; you know, the works.

"Or, really, being a girl…" she smiled, shrugging a little. "Either way."

Remus forced his attention to return to his book. Of late, Ophelia had been hanging around others, too, so that when she _did_ come over Remus could pretend he was busy.

Sirius made a snide comment about the naughtier side of Ophelia's gypsy heritage which earned him a good slap across the arm and the threat of a Jelly-Legs Hex from the aforementioned young woman.

"What I do in the privacy of my non-existent caravan is _my_ business, Mr. Black. No matter what dreams you think I take part in."

" You'll never let me live that down, will you?" Sirius said in half annoyance, and half awe of her ability to remember that far back. " I know some better pick-up lines now, I'll have you know."

"So you can be an even _better_ womanizer? Oy, Sirius, sometimes you astound me….Here you are, checking out the _birds_ around the castle when you should _really_ be spending your time on the _O.W.L.S._ ." Ophelia shook her head, cracking open her potions book and beginning the terrible feat of studying. Which, really, when you had her aptitude for remembering every little detail, was _not_ too difficult.

" But I don't have my books," Sirius said as he looked around him.

" Hey Moony," James said as he tapped the mentioned marauder on his shoulder.

" Why do call me that" Remus asked.

" Oh, well," Sirius said with a smirk. " Remember that one party in second year when we brought the butterbeers up from the kitchen?"

" Yeah." Remus said, he didn't like where there was potentially going.

" Well," Sirius said, drawing out the word a little. " How can I put this lightly…I can't….You got drunk…_real_ drunk, and, well, you put on a little show for us."

" Quite enjoyable, actually," James said with a smirk. " For _Ophelia_, mostly." At this he elbowed the mentioned girl.

"Are you serious?" Remus asked.

"No, _he's_ Sirius," Ophelia grinned, pointing at the black-haired Black that had fallen onto his side, laughing hysterically. "But, yes. You…_did_."

Remus flushed a scarlet that challenged the hair of James' object of affection, and hid behind his book.

"I shouldn't have asked," he muttered.

"But you're so _cute_ when you blush," Ophelia murmured into his ear, having leaned over to put her head behind his book.

"Remus and Ophelia, sitting in a tree," Sirius and James began to spout the children's song between fits of laughter.

Ophelia reached over and slapped the both of them, but she could hardly keep from laughing herself.

"K-I-S-S-I-"

WHAM!

"Gits. We're not even _in_ a tree," Ophelia said proudly, snuggling against the trunk of the birch tree and pulling her book closer to her face. She seemed relatively undaunted, barring the deep crimson of her cheeks.

" Awe, you look _doubly_ cute when _you_ blush," Sirius said as he pinched her cheeks.

"Touch me again and Madame Pomfrey will have her work cut out for her trying to separate your mangled remains from James'." She directed this last part at James because of the kissy faces he was making. Throwing her closed Charms book at the spectacle-wearing boy, she settled even closer to the base of the tree.

Missing the Hogsmeade trip, Remus scampered under the branches of the Whomping Willow after freezing it's branches with the stick that always lay nearby.

He sighed heavily as he thought about all the fun he was missing, but set his face as he continued on through the darkness of the tunnel.

"I'll…catch up with you three later," Ophelia murmured, waving off Sirius, James, and little Peter Pettigrew after they stepped out of Honeydukes. A huge – and I mean abnormally large…like Snape's nose – bar of chocolate was gripped in her arms, already wrapped perfectly in shimmering blue paper. Snow crunched beneath Ophelia's boots as she made her way to the fenced off area that surrounded the Shrieking Shack.

"Happy birthday, Remus," Ophelia whispered as she snuck herself through a previously made (by her, of course) gap in the fence.

Beyond her, behind the dilapidated roof of the Shack, the sun was all too quickly setting. It would start soon, she knew.

Remus tucked his knees under his chin as the room he was in grew steadily darker with the coming of night. He sighed heavily as his mind lingered for a moment on the pain that was bound to begin.

It was then that he heard a noise from the other side of the wall, was that the sound of crunching snow? Had someone finally become brave enough to come this close?

He scrambled to his feet, about to disappear to the upper floor to give the person time to escape, when he heard something that made him stop.

" Ivnfh," an all _too_ familiar voice wafted through a hole in the closest window. With a deep inhale, the speaker, of the name Ophelia, pushed against the rotting front door. Her shoulder against the wood, she began to jimmy the lock with her hand. Balancing the present in her arms was a task as she pushed against the door, but eventually she had pushed hard enough to unlatch the door. Collapsing to the floor on the other side as she slipped, she clutched the present to her chest and landed on her back.

" O-Ophelia?" Remus said incredulously as he rushed to her aid. " What are you doing here, are you insane?"

"How could you even ask that?" she grinned up at him, pushing herself up into a sitting position with one hand. She shivered a little, fishing her wand out of her pocket and flicking her wrist in the direction of the door to close it.

" How…HOW? Do you realize what today is?" Remus said holding her shoulders, and giving them a slight shake.

"Of course I do. It's your birthday…speaking of which," she smiled, thrusting her arms out to him, the present in her hands. "Happy birthday, Remus."

" No, it's…what?" Remus said as he looked down at the gift. " It is?"

"_Yes_, Remus. I bought you…well, open it?" she smiled a little, nudging him gently in the chest. "It's for…_after_. I can hold onto it until then, but I want you to know that you have it…oh…and…"

Before a word could be said against it, she pulled herself closer to him and gave him a light peck on the cheek, "That too. Happy birthday, Remus. R olev blf."

Slightly dazed Remus looked at her, and then at the chocolate. He squinted his eyes against the darkness to read it, when they became suddenly wide.

" GET OUT!" Remus screamed as he thrust the present into her arms, and hauled her up after him. " You have to go…NOW! It's almost…"

"Your birthday," she smiled, ignoring the fact that he was throwing her about like a rag doll.

"I will _not_," she began, rounding on him, though not in anger, "let you be alone on your birthday. Full moon or not."

" You want me to be happy today, right?" Remus asked as he pushed her toward the door, she nodded. " Well, I would be _really_ happy if you left, and got yourself out of danger. Now go!"

"Ml," she narrowed her eyes, somehow managing to push the large bar of chocolate into an oversized pocket on the inside of her winter coat.

"No," she repeated, this time in English. "It isn't fair to leave you – I –"

Remus retreated quickly, why did she have to be so damned stubborn? Ophelia's eyes glanced out a hole, and she saw the moon was beginning to rise.

"I…" she started, eyes moving back to Remus. Her gaze caught on his for a moment before it moved to his hands. Biting her lip, she straightened herself against the door. Biting her tongue, she moved towards him again. "I _do_ know what I'm doing, Remus."

" NO!" Remus screamed as he slashed out at her. Her gasp of surprise mingled with a gasp of pain as she stumbled back. Remus looked at her cut cheek, then down at his…paws. " Nggh!" He doubled over a little, and stumbled back against the opposite wall; grasping his arm. Blood trickled onto the floor from the wounds caused by his claws digging into it.

"Remus!" the word stumbled over her lips, lolling over her tongue like it weighed far too much. The bar of chocolate that she had purchased as his gift slipped from her pocket as she rushed forward, ignoring the searing pain that coursed through the wounds along her neck, jaw, and cheek as she moved towards him. All thoughts of her own safety, of logic, of _living_ had long since disappeared from her mind. The only thing she could focus on was the pain that Remus – _her _Remus – was being subjected to – by no fault of his own.

" Don't!" He commanded, the wolfishness in his tone caused her to stop for a moment before she began to move toward him once more. " DON'T!"

"I can't just _leave_ you, Remus!" she squeaked a little, her normal, even tone forgotten amongst the jumble of thoughts and feelings that flooded her being. She reached out to touch his arm, blood seeping through her fingers. His blood.

" You can and you _must_!" Remus said, pushing her away much more violently than he had intended, her wand flew from her hand -which had just recently been fished from her pocket - and across the room.

"I…" she stopped, stumbling a little before she lost her balance. Her wand had almost slipped through a hole in the far wall, the smashed bar of chocolate was by the door. Tears mingled with blood against her wounded cheek and a bit of the mixture began to dry on the collar of her robes, but she still looked up to him. Pain shot up her arm from her left wrist – she had landed awkwardly – but she ignored that too. "Remus…"

It was then that a horrible sound filled the entire shack, and it shook slightly, as though in fear of the creator of the noise. Remus' screams reverberated off the walls of the building, and seemed to become louder.

Three people stopped in their tracks, and gazes went to the house before gravitating toward each others.

"You let me fall again," she whimpered, clutching her mangled wrist to her chest with her right hand. She stared up at him, not in fear of him, but more in awe and anguish. If she was afraid of anything it was how little power she had to _help_ him.

However, as she looked up at Remus she realized that he didn't look much like Remus at all. True his clothing was strewn on the floor around him, but instead of Remus' blue eyes, amber ones glared at her, and his form had been mutated into that of a wolf's.

She was at a loss for words, huddled there on the floor in all of her helplessness. Without another thought, she struggled to push herself to her two feet, using all the strength in her abdomen, legs, and good hand to accomplish the awkward feat.

" Ivnfh…" she whispered, though she knew all too well that Remus was gone.

There was a whimper as response, but it changed rapidly into a growl, and the not-Remus bounded into the air.

Ophelia's eyes shut as a natural response, and her arms flew up to protect her when she heard something slam into the floor, and a whimper along with a growl that was _not _Remus'.

Her eyes opened, and she lowered her arms.

Before her on the dusty, snow-covered floor of the Shrieking Shack lay (unbeknownst to her, really) two of her closest friends. One, Remus, she could pick out of the two. The other was a large black dog that she could not tell was anything but just that.

" Ophelia, we'll explain later, but you _ really _need to leave now," James said as he helped her to the door where Peter was waiting with her wand, and Remus' broken chocolate bar.

Ophelia turned to ask him what he planned to do only to find that James was gone. Instead a stag stood before her where, mere seconds before, James had been.

If she had been any less of a stubborn mule, the young woman would have collapsed to her knees in a dead faint. Instead, jaw set in a line that caused pain to the fresh wounds, Ophelia graciously took the things that Peter held for her and exited. There would be a _lot_ of explaining to do on the part of the Marauders.


	6. Chapter 5

1**A/N: Alright, so there is a lot of badness going on here…yay! Okay, so we're only going to do Disclaimers when we want to, because…just because. I think it is generally known by now that, no, we _don't_ own Harry Potter, right?**

There had been a lot of inquiries to face when his fellow Gryffindors noticed the fresh bandages on Remus' visage, not to mention Ophelia's. However, Remus brushed them off with simple answers. He was far too used to such questions by now.

At the moment he lay in his bed staring at the ceiling, and not really wanting to talk to anyone, but he knew it was only a matter of time before Ophelia and the others came to see how he was, and have other questions answered.

The aforementioned young woman, when questioned about her new scars, simply remained quiet. She couldn't, for all the life of her, think of a suitable lie – so she merely did not answer.

The very same young woman quietly padded her way into the boys' dormitory, specifically Remus', and made her way to the end of the aforesaid young man's bed.

"Ivnfh…" she bit her lip, leaning her hip against the back right post of his four-poster, "I have your present…it's…not broken any more…"

" Thank you," was all he said as he turned on his side away from her.

"I…" she started but stopped soon after, setting the package beside his body.

"You let me fall again…" she murmured, hand gripping the post before a shaky sigh left her lips. With that she turned, making her way back to the door.

Remus turned his face against his pillow, and rubbed it a little. When he turned his head back to it's previous position he felt the wetness from his eyes press on his cheek now.

" I never _meant_ to hurt you," he mumbled to the near-empty room. " but this time I suppose we won't be able to fix it, will-" He took a deep breath. " will we?"

"Read the letter you angsty little bloke," Sirius coughed from the doorway, pushing off of the frame of the door and thrusting himself into the room. "I don't know quite exactly what it says, but I'm sure she answered that question…and I think there's something in there about you _not_ hurting her. She likes the scar, by the way. Says it 'adds character'. Oddball, she is. Good snog, though."

Remus said up, and glared at Sirius.

" I thought I was _alone_." He turned to look at the chocolate bar. " And that's how I _wanted_ it."

" Funny," Sirius said as he quirked an eyebrow. " I thought your time of the month was _over_."

Remus threw a glare at him, but otherwise ignored his shaggy haired friend as he turned his attention to the letter, which read:

_I know you don't want to be alone…I don't know why you insist upon it, Ivnfh. Even after that night, I still refuse to think of you as anything but Remus. Sure, you have quirks – your quirks might be a little more dangerous than most people's, but you've seen me around my time of the month, so that's very debatable. You know what I'm trying to say…_

_Yes, it can be fixed. And I want it to be. Please, Remus…don't tell me you're giving up. _

_Yours Always,_

_Olev Zodabh, _Lkvorz

Remus sighed as he tossed the letter aside, and stashed the chocolate in his bedside table. He looked at Sirius, and shrugged his shoulders.

_What can I do_, Remus thought as he laid back down, a signal to Sirius that it was time to leave. Then again, how often did the boy listen? _Well_…_I suppose_…

" Don't – er – 'let her fall' again Remus," Sirius said as he walked toward the door. " I don't care if you _are_ my friend, there are some things that one just doesn't over look, and I won't over look it."

Remus chewed his lip as he thought of what his friend had said, but what else could he do?

"For starters," Sirius chuckled a little, stepping a bit through the doorway, "you can get off your lazy arse and _follow_ her. Though…you may want to wait a bit…I don't suppose she'll be too thrilled with the lot of us after James has a go at explaining what happened. I mean, we _did_ leave her in the dark for the past…oh, three years?"

Ignoring Sirius' advice, Remus got up, and left the room to go find Ophelia, though, he already had a pretty good idea of where she was. I mean, how could you _not_ when her angry voice was ringing throughout the Gryffindor Common Room?

"James Potter, how could you _not_ tell me!" Ophelia hissed, jumping up from the burgundy-colored couch and marching indignantly about the common room. "It's…it's _me_ for bloody crying out loud! And look, now I'm talking like a bloody _Brit_! …Chrissakes, mate – AHH! JAMES!"

The messy haired boy cringed slightly at the look that she was giving him.

" Well," he ventured as Remus came all the way down to the common room, and over to where the two were. " We just wanted to be…careful." He decided now was _not_ the time to mention the Marauder's map.

"James, I _knew _about his…_condition_ the moment I met him, and you're trying to tell me you wanted to be _careful_? Bloody bleeding grimy sonnuva-"

"Ophelia," Remus said as he grabbed her arm. " We need to talk."

Ophelia stopped the moment he began to speak, and every stitch of anger seemed to melt away from her when his fingers wrapped around her upper arm. "I…James, sorry. Really…I just…"

Giving one of the most apologetic looks to Mr. Potter first, Ophelia turned her attention to Remus. She looked something like a lost puppy.

Remus pulled her along through the Portrait Hole, then most of the castle, and only stopped when the reached a door. He opened it, and looked into the room beyond. Obviously it was empty, for he pulled Ophelia into the room.

However, when they got into the room she saw that it was _not_ empty. There were owls _everywhere _along the sides of the wall. They were in the Owlry.

"Sorry," Remus said as he let go off her arm, and crossed to the window. " I just…I wanted to speak to you in private, if that's alright."

"You couldn't have picked some place that smelled a _tad_ bit nicer?" she snickered a little, offering a smile that portrayed how exactly all right it was that he had 'stolen' her from the common room.

"Well…" Remus said without laughing, but he didn't continue.

"I see…" the corners of her lips tugged down, etching frown lines along her chin and between her furrowed eyebrows. Running a hand back through her hair, she pushed the long, dark curls out of her face before she turned from him. Resting her head against the wood of the door, she breathed out deeply.

"If you're going to talk," her already quiet voice was somewhat muffled by the rustle of wings that surrounded the pair, "then feel free to do so."

" Ophelia," Remus began, his voice was weak, and uncertain. He took a deep breath, building his courage, and plunged on. " We…you…I…I'm giving up."

A sob, unexpected and seemingly out of place, carried out of the young woman's throat and her somewhat limp body began to slide down the face of the door. Catching herself with a pallid hand, she tugged herself back up the door. She did not turn to face him, instead her hand slid over the doorknob.

"I won't fight you, Remus. I tried that once," she hoped her words stung – she said them with every ounce of venom her tongue could lash at him. She hoped he could feel the same ripping at his heart that was tearing at hers, "If you want to give up, so be it."

Little did she know, her words did little to effect him. After all, how can one break that which is already destroyed?

"Good then," Remus said, his voice didn't sound at all like he felt, which he supposed was a good thing. If it did, then it wouldn't work, she wouldn't believe him, and he so needed her to believe his horrid, false-filled words. " because I'm tired of fighting. This way is easier…for both of us."

"That has to be the biggest lie I've ever heard you say, Ivnfh," she murmured, turning around slowly, almost lethargically. Red-rimmed and tear-filled eyes avoided his face as she pushed off of the door, leaving it closed behind her. Looking up at him then, for just a split second as she spoke, she murmured, "Olev means 'love', Remus. _R olev blf_."

With every ounce of his being he wanted to scream "No!" Those three simple words tore into him more than the poisoned ones she'd spoken earlier.

"Well, I'm sorry," Remus said, he was gripping the window ledge so hard that his knuckles turned white. "because I don't love you." He bit his lip, and forced the tears to stay out of his eyes. "I hate you! I can't stand you. You make me sick. When I look at you I feel as though I'll convulse with every ounce of my being." He thought the words over and over in his mind as though that would make them true. " You're feelings…are unreturned, Ophelia."

"Wow…you sure know how to make a girl feel great about herself," she whispered, almost all of her voice vanished with the tears that gripped her throat.

"I'm so glad…that I could…" she stopped, choking on a sob before regaining something of her composure, "…elicit such strong emotions from you, Remus. I had hoped, however, that I would have been proven wrong."

"Hope is a feeble thing Ophelia," Remus said, no longer lying, but expressing his true feelings. " you should know that by now."

"You shouldn't declare such terrible things about yourself…for, truthfully, you were my hope," she offered a faint, remorseful smile as she passed him, leaning against the wall to the side of the window. Her gaze followed steadily the stream of white snowflakes and her tears mimicked them.

"I can handle being feeble," Remus said, as he forced his fingers to relax their grip.

"That is one of many things I could never bring myself to call you….If you'll excuse me," she waved her hand in the direction of the door, "I would like to be alone…if you can find it in yourself to stop tearing me apart for a moment, of course, my dear Remus."

"Of course," Remus said as he turned away from her. " I have more important things to do right now, anyway."

"Then go," she murmured, turning her back to him, letting her fingers take over the gripping-of-the-ledge. She leaned precariously out the window, though she had no intent to hoist herself out of it. She needed to feel the cold stinging her cheeks, freezing the tears against them – she was all too afraid she had been dragged to Hades in these past few minutes. The cold reminded her that she was still alive, much to her chagrin.

It took all his will to leave the room at that moment, trusting that she was smart enough to keep from going any farther out of the window. The moment he closed the door behind him he realized how sick he was with himself. He brought his hand to his mouth, bit his lip, and walked off to find the nearest boy's bathroom. He bit his lip harder as a tear trickled down his cheek.

An owl, a few moments later, found its way onto the silent girl's knee. She could not bring herself to cry – the tears had ceased, and it was as if she was so empty – the things he had said had drained her of every possible feeling, she thought – she did not hold the salt water to cry. She had crumpled, though, onto the floor beneath the window.

The owl, an intimidating gray one of sorts, pecked rudely at her healing wrist before depositing its letter and flapping its wings in her face as sort of an exclamation point to an already awful day.

_My Dearest Ophelia,_

_I feel the need to tell you – yes, after all of these years – of a terrible crime I have committed against someone I feel you must know._

Her father's letter, written in the sloppy handwriting of a partially insane man (though his grammar continued to be as impeccable as ever), released to Ophelia her worst fears.

_I am afraid, my child, that I have turned this poor boy into the same monster I become once a month…and am slowly coming to accept on a permanent basis. _

It continued on in a similar fashion, explain with grotesque clarity the events which took place on the night her father was describing, finally mentioning Remus Lupin's name. The letter ended as thus:

_Your Loving Father,_

_Fenrir Greyback _


	7. Chapter 6

1Wishing he had his toothbrush with him, Remus gargled water, and spat it into the sink before him. Though his stomach didn't seem to feel as though it was finish, Remus had a feeling that there was nothing left to expel from his body anyhow, and he left the bathroom.

He walked down the corridors of the castle, and eventually found himself in the Gryffindor common room. Without saying a word, or glancing at his friends, he walked up to the boys' dormitory, and climbed into bed.

Sirius turned away from the direction in which Remus had just disappeared, and, chewing his lower lip, he stood.

" I wonder where Ophelia is," Sirius said as he glanced sidelong at James. " I'm going to go find her."

"No need," the aforementioned young witch murmured as she appeared through the Portrait Hole, several books in her arms. She was smiling like her world hadn't just been turned upside down and shaken by the cuffs of its pants for its lunch money. "Just had to stop by the library to get a few study tools…You know, O.W.L.S. coming up and all."

"That isn't until _May_," Sirius gave her a curious look. James, however, simply stared at her in that I-know-something's-up sort of way that he had of looking at her.

Peter, being the blunt little git he was, squeaked out, "Why did Remus look so upset?"

"Wouldn't know," Ophelia shrugged a little, plopping down beside the couch, books finding themselves places all about her legs. "We had our chat and then we went our separate ways."

" I better go see what's up then," James said as he stood up, and headed for the dormitory he shared with his three friends and another fifth year boy. His face set in an unsettled expression, the Quiditch Seeker meandered his way up the staircase, stopping only when he had walked over the threshold to his dormitory.

"Remus, you bloody bas-…" James cut himself off, shaking his head. "What's going on? And don't even _think_ of telling me 'nothing'."

That had been exactly Remus' intention, he closed his eyes, and relaxed his body, pretending to be asleep.

"James," Sirius coughed from the doorway, nodding his head in the direction from which he had come, "I think Ophelia could do with a good James-to-heart talk. She's a bit…off her rocker? Mumblin' something about a 'wolf-something-or-other' potion…to cure it? Like everything's her fault…"

James, slightly caught off guard, nodded quickly, giving a last glance over his shoulder at the 'sleeping' Remus before bounding down the stairs again.

"You bloody bastard," Sirius finished the thought that James had started before the former had even arrived in the room. "Don't pretend to be asleep."

Stalking up towards the bed, Sirius did the only thing he could rightly think of to do in such a situation – he hit the horizontal boy squarely in the back.

Remus bit his lip as he recoiled from the punch. He sat up, and scrunched into a sort of ball with his knees pulled up to his chin. His eyes refused to wander in Sirius' direction.

"What the bloody hell could you have said to her to make her-"

Sirius was cut off by a scream – most definitely Ophelia-oriented – that sounded like a cross between something dying and something wishing it were already dead. The young man cringed, clenching his jaw.

"-…"

Remus merely buried his face into the space between his legs and his chest as a response.

"Don't even try and tell me that her pain doesn't bother you…I know you better than that, Remus. _She_ knows you better than that…How do you think it feels for her, not knowing if you're lying about _hating_ her or telling the truth? It's got to hurt more for you to lie – she has to try and figure out what's so flipping wrong with her that you feel the _need _to let her know you hate her so very vividly."

This time Remus voiced his reply, muffled though it was, " well, I _thought_ I had her completely convinced…"

"That what, you're a bloody arsehole? Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's figured that by now…And if not, she's madder than I thought, liking you in the first place…I mean, really…She's gorgeous, you know? She could have _anyone_ in this entire bloody place, and she picks _you_?" Sirius hoped, in some demented way, that this taunting would boil his blood a little – pull him out of his shell enough for Sirius to catch him and drag him out the rest of the way. If not, this could get messy. _Very_ messy indeed.

" If you want her so bad, take her," Remus said quietly, lifting his head enough for his words to ring clear.

"I couldn't have her if I tried," Sirius scoffed, shaking his head. "Nope, she's the one bird in this school that's immune to the Black charms. She's got her heart set on one person, and if she's not getting him – well, you – she's not about to have anyone else. Anyone _less_, in _her_ opinion."

Remus was silent for a moment, but then he whispered, " Go away, will you?"

"No, I don't think I will," Sirius snorted, sauntering around the perimeter of Remus' bed. "Why should I? I mean, really, this is a free country, isn't it? I have just as much right to badger you with the truth as you've got to force lies down the poor girl's throat, neh?"

Remus finally lifted his head completely. He looked at Sirius for a moment, before letting his head fall back against the wall repeatedly with a _thunk! Thunk! Thunk!_

Had Sirius been in any other frame of mind, his hand probably would have found its way behind Remus' head before the third thunk – however, he currently cared nothing for that certain individual's well being (okay, that's a lie. Sirius just didn't care _as much_ as normal) and moved to plop onto his own bed.

"Leave me alone!" wafted up from beneath them, or more in the hallway – Ophelia was trying to scramble down the stairs, though she was being held onto quite tightly by James. "I don't want to-"

"Come off it, will you, Ophelia?" came James' lower voice. "You can't honestly think it's your fault, can you?"

"AND WHY BLOODY NOT?"

"Oy…" Sirius murmured, jumping up and moving back towards the door. As he did so, it was pushed open by a very perturbed-looking gypsy. This caused Sirius to be smooshed between the door and the wall, emitting a deep groan of annoyance, though it went unnoticed.

Remus looked over at the highly upset girl with the most uncaring look he could muster, which, at that moment, wasn't very difficult.

She, however, wasn't paying any attention to Remus. Instead, she was trying to shake James off, most literally, from her leg. "Get _off_, James! Why did you push me up here?"

"Because he-"

Sirius slammed the door shut, walking out from behind it, rubbing his forehead, "Next time, watch where you're going in a hurry, eh?"

"So-"

"Oy," Sirius waved his hand in Ophelia's direction, "forget it. Anyway…James, don't waste your time."

James, his mouth having dropped clear to…wherever is on the opposite side of the earth from Scotland…, looked at Sirius curiously.

"He's stupid. That's-"

"Shut it, Sirius," Ophelia murmured. While Sirius had succeeded in confounding James, Ophelia had managed to get him off of her and was now moving to open the door again.

"It's-"

"I said _shut up_," Ophelia growled, turning her head to glare at him a moment before she shooed herself out the door again.

James, sitting on the floor, looked up at Sirius who, in turn, looked over to Remus.

"Oy, mate, you've really screwed up this time."

"Not like he cares," Sirius muttered, giving James a sour look.

" I _don't_ care," Remus said, how many lies did that make? " That's what I intended to happen, why should I care?"

"Since when have you purposely set out to make someone so upset that she's completely opposite of her normal self? _Especially_ Ophelia?" Sirius glared at him, shaking his head as he folded his arms across his chest.

"And since when have you been such a terrible liar?" James snorted, mimicking Sirius as he shook his own head, propping himself up with his hands behind him.

" I…" Remus began, but he was really getting sick of the lying. " Since I decided…I decided…"

Sirius' face scrunched up into a look of disgust, "to be an arsehole? Nice choice, Remus."

"Sirius, shut up," James stood, running a hand through his hair. "Remus…What the hell is going on inside that brain of yours?"

" Maybe Sirius is right," Remus said turning away from the two in hopes of creating a wall between them. " I read a lot on lycanthropy. There have been many cases where, eventually, the victim gives up, and embraces his lunar half. That's what I told Ophelia, that I give up. Maybe that's what-"

"SIRIUS, JAMES! REMUS!" a squealing voice came as Peter bounded up the stairs, clutching a folded piece of yellowed parchment in his hands.

"Look…what…" he grasped his chest, inhaling and exhaling deeply as he tried to catch his breath, "…I…found!"

In his head he held a letter.

_The_ letter.

_My Dearest Ophelia_…

"Your Loving Father, Fenrir Greyback," James finished as he lowered the note, and looked at Remus.

" Her…her…" Remus stammered, his head was spinning. His body collapsed against the wall, and his eyes darted back and forth as though searching the air for answers of what he should do next.

"He sounds pretty bloody mental," Sirius mumbled, looking at James. He avoided looking at Remus.

"Perhaps because he is?" a quiet voice offered from the doorway. Peter squealed as he saw Ophelia, and he was soon scrambling to apologize for taking the letter.

Ophelia didn't say anything, shrugging her shoulders. Her face was several shades whiter than her natural color – she was praying to every deity known to Wizarding kind that Remus wouldn't hate her…well, he already _did_…Scratch that.

Remus stood up, though his legs felt like they would collapse any moment, however, his stomach had finally scrounged up enough for him to be in need of the bathrooms services once more.

"I'm sorry," Ophelia said, her voice sounding like a shell of its original form. She seemed entirely that way, as if she was simply a ghost. "I tried to tell you, long before, that my father was a werewolf…I had _no idea_ that it…was…that he…Remus…"

She stopped, her voice losing its ability to form.

Remus wanted to tell her that he didn't hate her, and that all the things he'd said that night were lies, but he was afraid that, if he, tried something _else_ would come spilling out, though, admittedly, it might be more pleasant than the truth he'd kept hidden.

James, having caught on to what was going on with Remus, ducked towards his bed and grabbed the wastebasket beside it, and shoved it into Remus' hands.

"I…what I was talking about…" Ophelia murmured, sighing, "I mean…me trying to…change…" she stopped, shaking her head, "I don't know. The books…I'm…I need to _fix it_…I _have_ to."

Finally Remus wretched, and James turned away, his nose scrunched in disgust of what was now in the rubbish bin.

Sirius' body lurched forward a little and he covered his mouth with his hand before he could throw up and spew it all over the dormitory floor.

Peter, however, was not quite so lucky.

Ophelia, ever the prepared one, cast a cleaning spell on the mess on the floor – she seemed to be the only one not effected by Remus' original mess of stomach acids.

" Oh god…" Remus muttered as he spat into the bin. He stumbled over to his trunk, grabbed his toothbrush, and headed for the door.

Sirius, Peter, and James all followed suit – though James _hadn't_ thrown up, he felt the need to brush his teeth as much as the others. Ophelia, however, finished removing all remnants of throw-up from the room. Finding the discarded letter on the floor, she did the only thing she could think of – tore it into the smallest shreds imaginable, wishing she could do the same to the man that had written it.

A little later Remus placed his toothbrush down, but he still felt horrible. His mind seemed to be frozen, as he walked over to the wall, and slid down it. He watched as the other three continued to scrub their teeth like mad.

Ophelia meandered outside the door to the bathroom the boys had entered, tempted to tap her head with her wand just to see what sort of damage it would do. She was sort of floating outside of her body, or so it felt. She wouldn't have been surprised if, were she to accidentally hex herself, she wouldn't notice a difference. At all.

James looked over at Remus, and sighed heavily. Rinsing first he said, " You did sort of bring this onto yourself mate."

" Oh yes," Remus said sarcastically, and laughing in a slightly mad way. " _That's_ what I need to hear now."

" Actually," Sirius said, mouth still full of paste. " I think it is."

Remus gave a strangled roar of frustration, and toppled over onto his side. He lay there kind of staring into space.

A timid knock rang through the bathroom but a splash in one of the cubicles deterred attention from Ophelia to another (though, literally) spectral young woman.

"What are you doing in my bathroom?" Myrtle, _Moaning_ Myrtle, to be precise, spat at them, flying through the cubicle door. Peter screamed like a little girl and ran directly into a wall, apparently assuming he could mimic Myrtle's entrance in a quick escape.

Remus stared at the transparent girl.

" My luck isn't it?" Remus said hysterically. " First I…now I…" Again her roared in frustration. " A _girl's_ bathroom!"

"Oy, a girl's bathroom?" Sirius mused, raising an eyebrow as he spit out his eighteenth or so mouthful of paste before rinsing for the last time. "OPHELIA!" He roared good-naturedly, bounding over to the door. He, however, had ignored the fact that Remus was on the floor and promptly tripped over him, sending himself hurling _through_ Myrtle and into the door.

Myrtle screamed, swiping the air where Sirius' head had just been and began to do what she did best – moan about her poor, sad _after_-life and whirl her way back to her toilet.

Sirius finally made it to the door, and opened it.

" If there is a god," Remus began quietly. " he hates me for _something._"

"For lying to her," James suggested, shrugging a little and, spitting out his own twenty-seventh mouthful before rinsing _his_ final time, cautiously sidestepping the simpering Pettigrew, and reaching a hand down to Remus.

Ophelia, much to her chagrin, was being dragged into the bathroom by the hand of one Sirius Black.

"Sirius, let me go, will you?"

"No, I don't think so…it's not nearly as much fun, you know."

Remus took the hand that was offered to him, and stood. He suddenly became increasingly interested with the puddle of water seeping out from under Myrtle's cubicle.

"Remus, get off it," James prodded him lightly in the shoulder, nodding his head in the direction of the protesting gypsy.

Sirius found himself behind Ophelia, pushing her towards Remus. The girl was complaining as loudly as she could muster – which, in this case, wasn't very loud at all.

" Come on Remus," Sirius said as he finally let go of Ophelia, and rushed to the door to block any exit. " she doesn't have cooties."

" I know that," Remus said glaring at Sirius. "I've got…other reasons to avoid her, thank you."

"Name one _really_ good one," James raised an eyebrow, still pushing him gently in the direction of the backing-up girl.

"My father bit him," Ophelia offered quietly, biting her lip as she looked away.

" That's no reason," Remus said even more quietly. " Not for me, anyway." He took a deep breath. " I said a lot of stuff-"

"And acted like a complete arse," Sirius coughed, adding in not-so-subtly.

"Sirius, s_hut up_," James shook his head, trying not to laugh. Ophelia smiled just a little, but the action died soon thereafter.

" No, he's right," Remus said almost inaudibly. " I wouldn't blame Ophelia if she wanted to…kill me or something."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ophelia smiled before laughing, "Just castrate you, maybe."

Sirius groaned, his hands moving to cover his crotch, "Ouch…Tough luck, mate."

James laughed, shaking his head as he stopped trying to force Remus towards Ophelia.

"I said _maybe_…Which, as we all know, coming from me means not bloody likely."

Remus was the only one, other than the still slightly dazed Peter, who didn't laugh.

" I…" Remus looked Ophelia in the eyes. " I don't…I don't want to let you fall again. I'm tired of hurting you, and…" his arm twitched as though about to move to touch her cheek where he had 'left his mark' so-to-speak. "...and I'm afraid next time…"

"Don't worry, Remus," she murmured, speaking in her native tongue. "I'm _not_. Afraid, that is…"

" I _have_ to worry," Remus said in _his _native tongue. " I have to worry, because I…" he cut himself off. He couldn't bring himself to say it. That darn four letter word caught in his throat, refusing to budge, so he replaced it with another. " I care about you."

"I would've liked it more if you had left it to my imagination," she stuck out her tongue playfully, cheeks flushing a little. "Or at least said 'olev' instead. Not, of course, if you don't mean it. I think we've had enough of lies tonight, nb olev."

Remus looked away, feeling uncomfortable. He sighed heavily.

" We should get back," Remus said finally, still avoiding eye contact with Ophelia. " We have class tomorrow."

"Uhh, no," Sirius shook his head, "It's Friday, Remus. Nice try. Just kiss her and get it over with, right?"

Ophelia blushed and shook her head, looking away from Remus. She was thoroughly embarrassed, but not nearly as depressed or let-down as she had been in the Owlry. At least he didn't hate her.

"We should…go…He's right."

Remus too was blushing, but he nodded to Ophelia's words.

" I'm…tired, you guys," Remus said as he walked to the door. " I just…I need some sleep."

"You need a good slap is what you need," Sirius muttered, giving him the once-over.

Ophelia shook her head, moving towards the door as well, "Sirius, come on…It _is _getting late, and if we aren't careful, we'll get caught on the way back."

" We can use the Marauder's Map!" exclaimed a squeaky voice that caused everyone to jump other than the owner of the voice. The others had completely forgotten Peter was there.

" W-what _are_ you talking about Peter?" James said in a not-so-convincing voice. When Ophelia turned to look inquiringly at the smallest of the four boys James mimed for him to cut it out.

"That was smooth," Sirius shook his head, hitting himself on the forehead. "She probably would have ignored it if she hadn't seen you doing that, Prongs."

Ophelia, quite bemused, raised an eyebrow at Peter, "So, what were you saying?"

"Oh, you know, the Ma-"

James slapped a hand over the speaking boy's mouth so that he wasn't speaking, "He wasn't saying anything."

"First you tell Remus to stop lying," Sirius shook his head, running his hand through his hair, "And now what are you doing? Why don't you just come clean with her?"

"Since when have _you _ever come clean with a girl?" James glared at Sirius, wiping his hand on his trousers. "Sorry, Wormtail…You know how it is."

" The Marauder's Map is…" Remus began. " Well, it might be easier if we just _show_ you."

"What are you waiting for then, my permission?" Ophelia grinned, tugging Sirius off of the door. "I mean…I think it's about high-time we have some fun again. We've been entirely too serious for fifteen-year-olds. When was the last time you got called a womanizer, Sirius?"

"Oy, I don't know…last Tuesday?"

Ophelia mocked a gasp, shaking her head, "Oh dear, what is this world coming to?"


	8. Chapter 7

1" Promise me," Remus said as he looked Ophelia straight in the eyes. " I want you to promise me that you won't go to the Shrieking Shack during the full moon."

"I don't want to break a promise," Ophelia offered him a sheepish smile, subconsciously rubbing the scar that ran along her jaw, "I mean…I'm fine, really…but…if it…bothers you _that_ much, I won't go."

" It's not that it bothers me, it's just…" Remus began, he sighed heavily. " I don't trust myself. When I transform I don't know who I am anymore. I would feel better if I knew you were safe, please?"

"I don't know whether to be annoyed because you're trying to baby me, or to be endeared because you're thinking about me," Ophelia smiled, touching his arm gently. "But, really…I won't, Remus. Not if you would rather it that I didn't…Though if that sort of 'trusting yourself' leads to anything below the waist…"

Snickering, she winked at him before laughing – it was a joke, right? – and shaking her head. "No worries, Remus. I won't go. I promise."

" Thank you," Remus said in a sigh. It was a Saturday, and they were sitting by the birch tree while the other three boys tested the ice to see if it was sturdy enough to walk on.

"I hope they don't fall in," Ophelia said absentmindedly, resituating herself on the blanket that was placed beneath the two of them. After doing so, she glanced down at the book that sat in her glove-clad hands.

" Oh I don't know," Remus said with a smile on his face. " Sirius could do with some cooling off."

"Maybe you could do with some heating up," Ophelia snickered, bumping her shoulder playfully against his before looking back to her book.

" Oy! Lovebirds!" Sirius called to them, Remus cringed at the, now often used, nickname for the pair. " Come have fun! You can study later…if that's what you're _really_ doing."

" Alright, that's it," Remus said as he stood up, and grabbed a handful of snow, and packing it. " I have a present for you Sirius!"

Ophelia had cringed at the mention of 'lovebirds', but for a different reason entirely. The fact that it wasn't true made her cringe for want of it. It hurt her a bit, because, though everything was smoothed over, there was still something missing. It was easier for her to talk to Remus, that was true, but…there was still something a little off, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Ignoring her deep thoughts, however, she closed her book, stood, and hid their studying items inside the confines of the blanket. Bounding over to the lake, she took tentative steps onto it, falling into James' arms none-too-gracefully.

" New move from your part of the world, Pheli?" Sirius asked jokingly. Remus smashed a lump of snow on his head matter-of-factly.

"Oh, you know it," she pretended to be a wonderful ice-skater, sliding around the ice…well, other than the occasional falling or running into EVERYONE. She really couldn't steer herself while walking, so she had no idea how anyone expected her to be graceful when her feet had _no _traction whatsoever.

"Ummph," she let out a little groan, falling flat on her backside on the ice.

_Crack!_

" Ophelia!" James called, being the first to notice, as Remus was trying to escaped the wrath of Sirius. The moment he heard the name, however, he stopped, and looked up.

Where she had been there was now a gaping hole in the ice, and she was gone.

Remus' face lost some of it's wind-burned coloring as he hobbled over to the hole.

" Ophelia?" Remus called questioningly.

"Don't get too close to it, otherwise you'll fall in too," James murmured, laying his body down a few feet from the hole in the ice. His face had paled considerably as well and he was trying to do some quick thinking.

It wasn't needed, however, as the body of the young woman could be seen not a foot beneath the top of the water. If only she could be_ reached_…

Remus bit his lip, but he'd decided what he was going to do before he'd even saw her. He took a few tentative steps forward before walking as quickly and cautiously toward the hole. James and Sirius were calling him back but he ignored them. Peter, who had been to afraid to come out on the ice, sat at the lake's frozen edge watching.

Remus reached the hole, and was about to get on his hands and knees to reach in the water when the ice broke, and he fell too.

The cold shocked his body, and made it numb, but his hand had managed to grip the edge of the hole. He reached out blindly, and, finally, grabbed onto something ice cold, but definitely human.

He pulled Ophelia to him, and pulled with all his might up. Hands were waiting at the surface to pull him and Ophelia out, apparently one of the seventh years had used a freezing charm to make the ice around the hole more stable.

Lips and skin tinged with blue, Ophelia was still alive, but as cold as humanly possible without actually dying. Well, maybe not. But it surely felt that way inside her head.

She had, also, bumped her head somewhere on the way down, forcing her partially unconscious and unable to maintain her breathing beneath the water – for this, she was paid with freezing lake water in her lungs.

Sirius had sprinted from the frozen lake to grab the blanket – in his haste, he had strewn the books about the snow and barked an order at Peter to pick them up. Who scrambled to do so nonchalantly.

Skidding to a halt short of the hole, Sirius dropped not-so-gently to his knees, draping the blanket over both Remus and Ophelia.

"Her chest…isn't…really…moving…" the seventh year that had charmed the ice murmured, watching Ophelia somewhat stupidly.

Sirius looked to Remus, watching to see if he was going to take charge.

Remus, however, was also looking quite dumbfounded. His hand found Ophelia's, and all he could manage was to hold onto it, as though doing so he could keep the life with in her.

With a roll of his eyes, Sirius murmured, "Can't expect miracles…" before leaning over the barely-breathing young woman and performing what he knew of CPR. A moment or two later, Ophelia was coughing cold water into Sirius' mouth, at which point the latter sat up, wiped his mouth, and snuggled the girl deeper into the blanket he had retrieved.

Out of instinct, Remus' hand moved of it's own accord, and brushed a wet lock of hair from her face as he sighed in relief.

Ophelia's eyes widened as she looked up at Sirius before her blue-tinged lips broke into a grin, "You _saved _me!" Her eyes turned to Remus as he moved her hair aside and her lips turned down in a frown, "Why are you…_wet_?"

Sirius rubbed the back of his head, biting his lip, "Well…you know, he went in after you…to _save_ you…"

"R…" Ophelia began, eyes wide again. In one swift movement, she wrapped her arms around his middle, snuggling against him beneath the warmth of the blanket. "You _saved_ me? Remus!"

" I suppose," Remus said blushing heavily.

"Don't be humble, mate," Sirius snickered, shaking his head as he buried his hands in his pockets. "She's smitten by the fact that you would risk your well-being for her. Take advantage of the situation, Moony."

" But…I…I only pulled her out," Remus said looking very embarrassed. " You're the one who-"

"Remus, _shut up_," Sirius laughed, "Come off it, will you? If you hadn't pulled her out, she'd likely still be in there…and by the looks of things, probably very well dead."

Ophelia squeaked slightly, burying her face against Remus' water-sodden chest and snuggled more against him. "You _did_ save me…Told you."

" Professor!"

The three looked 'round, and saw that there were three staff members rushing toward them. Their headmaster, their Head of House, and Madame Pomfrey were all coming toward the lake looking concerned.

As Professor Albus Dumbledore approached, he pulled out his wand and, as if on the thought of a command, two sizable stretchers appeared beside the wet individuals.

"Merlin's beard," Sirius mumbled, looking at the array of people that had found them on the ice, "word travels fast."

"This isn't that impor-" Ophelia started, though she was cut off by her own sneeze. Wiping her nose begrudgingly, she looked up at their headmaster with a sheepish smile, "Okay, I've been proven wrong."

" Why are there two," Remus said as James helped Ophelia onto her stretcher.

" Because…well…look at yourself," Madame Pomfrey said. " Never mind, just get on the stretcher."

"Really," Ophelia murmured in protest as James swung her legs onto the floating hospital bed, "I can _walk_…I'm just a bit cold, that's all."

" Oh no," Madame Pomfrey said as she dropped some blankets that McGonagal had conjured on her. " you are _both_ going to the Hospital Wing on these."

With that the three staff members turned, and began to walk up toward the castle. The air-born stretchers followed after them. Sirius went over to Ophelia's stretcher to talk to her. It was slightly ahead of Remus', and a just out of earshot.

Remus felt suddenly tired, and was about to go to sleep, when…

"Oy, mate, keep your eyes open…No sleeping, we have to make sure you don't go into hippopotamus arrest or something…"

"Hypothermic shock," Remus corrected reluctantly opening his eyes.

"So, Moony, why in the world did you jump into a freezing lake after Pheli? You _know_, Sirius was about to toss his scarf down…Then again, she was sort of unconscious, so that wouldn't have worked…but we didn't _know_ that at the time…"

" Because," Remus said, with a yawn. " I couldn't very well let her _die_ now, could I, and I didn't see Sirius I was a little preoccupied with the fact that Ophelia was under water."

"You didn't know she was about to die…and, might I say, you seemed quite a _bit_ preoccupied by the fact that it was _Ophelia_ that was under the water."

" I would have done the same for you," Remus said, then he chuckled. " On second thought, Sirius probably _would_ have beaten me to it if it was you. You two are pretty close."

"Stop trying to avoid the topic of conversation…and you're wrong, Remus. You _wouldn't_ have done the same thing if it were Sirius or I…because you would have _thought_ first. When you saw that she had fallen in, there was no stopping you. Believe me, we tried."

" Love makes people do strange things, I suppose," Remus said half consciously. Then, before James could protest, Remus closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"Hey, no," James murmured, reaching over and started to shake Remus' shoulder. "Not only are you _not_ supposed to sleep…_love_? Since _when_? I mean… I'm sure _she_ doesn't know anything about this."

Remus' eyes opened, and he looked up to see James, Sirius, and Peter sitting around his bed. He tried to sit up, but Sirius pushed his back with his forefinger.

" Nope, you need to stay down, mate," Sirius said with a grim expression. " Oh, and no more sleeping for you."

A small groan emitted from behind a curtain that was drawn across the space between Remus' bed and Ophelia's.

" Ophelia!" Remus exclaimed sitting up before the others could stop him. " Is she alright?" He started to pull the covers off, but Sirius, and James jointly restrained him as they did once every month, though in their humanly forms. " Let me go…I need to see if she's-"

"I'm fine," a voice, somewhat quieter and harsher, whispered from the other bed. "Ack…Could someone get me some water? My throat's terribly dry."

"Thought you had enough of that Ophelia," Sirius snickered, keeping his hand on Remus' shoulder.

James shook his head, moving away from Remus and Sirius as he dodged behind the curtain to deliver the requested item, "Have I ever told you that you're an idiot, Sirius?"

" Yes plenty of times," Sirius said as he pushed Remus back into laying position, this time he didn't resist.

The sound of a glass clanking on the bedside table resounding quietly before Ophelia let out a content sigh.

"Much better, thank you James…You know, now I owe the three of you my life. The way I was brought up, that means you can ask anything of me."

James snickered, "Don't offer that to Sirius…it could end poorly."

"Oy, why do you owe Jamesy your life?"

"He gave me water," Ophelia said matter-of-factly.

"It's that easy?" Sirius laughed his barking laugh, throwing his head back a little at the thought.

James returned to Remus' bed side, and gave him a significant look. At this Remus blushed, remembering what he said before falling asleep. Sirius looked at the two curiously.

The curtain began to slide along the rail that it was attached to on the ceiling, only to reveal a leaning-against-the-side-of-the-bed Ophelia.

"Oy," Ophelia put her hand to her head, stumbling a little as she pushed through James and Sirius to lean against Remus' bed. "_That_ certainly was an adventure."

" What are you doing," Remus exclaimed jumping out of his own bed, and ushering Ophelia to hers. " Get back in bed!"

" _You're_ one to talk," Sirius said as he tugged on Remus' shirt.

Remus pushed him away, and forced Ophelia to lay down in her bed.

" Stay there," Remus said as he got up, and headed back to his bed. " or I might be forced to do something _drastic_…again."

"I believe she was coming to join you, mate," James snickered, grinning as he saw the blush rise in the mentioned girl's cheeks.

"Shut _up_, James," Ophelia pouted, trying to hide her smile and reddened cheeks behind a shroud of blanket.

" Well, I don't want her to over exert herself that much," Remus said as he climbed into bed. " I'm not _that_ important. She can talk to me from where she is."

"Yes, darling, and jumping out of _your_ bed to push me back into mine isn't over-exerting _your_self at _all_…" Ophelia mocked, pushing back her covers. James gave her a weary look, but Sirius had moved over to her bed to settle her back down.

" That's _different_," Remus said as he pulled the covers over himself. " I had good reason to get out of my bed, where as _you_-"

"My reasoning was better," Ophelia replied smugly, crossing her arms over her chest as she nestled back against her pillows, propped up with Sirius' help.

"I have to give it to her, mate," James grinned, running a hand through his hair. "Especially considering our…previous conversation."

Remus ignored the last bit of his comment, and retorted with, " No, concern for someone's well being is a much better reason than wanting to sit by someone like me."

"Someone like _you_?" Ophelia asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, someone like _you_ is exactly who I want to sit next to and who's well being _I'm_ concerned with. Sirius, either help me out of bed or get the bloody hell out of my way."

Taken aback, Sirius jumped up and stumbled to stand to the side as Ophelia shakily stood, adjusting her robes. Mm, warm Sirius.

" Don't you dare come over here," Remus said as though his words could stop her, as if _anything_ could. " Just…just get back in bed before you hurt yourself. Sirius, James…help me out here."

"Sorry, mate, she's _scary_ when she's determined," Sirius laughed, offering a hand to help Ophelia walk to Remus' bed.

"Unless, of course," Ophelia stopped short of his bed, looking at him with something in her eyes that gave her question much more weight than the words, "you don't _want_ me…"

Quickly, she added, "…to sit with you."

" That's not fair, trying to make me feel guilty!" Remus pouted as he moved over to make room for her.

"Who said anything about guilt?" Ophelia smiled, slipping herself over the side of his bed and snuggling into the blankets. Sirius gathered the comforter from Ophelia's bed and laid it across the two.

"Oy, Remus, I think…" James began, but stopped. Whether or not Remus remembered what he had said earlier, it wasn't James' place to mention it.

"Think what?" Ophelia raised an eyebrow, turned her head just a bit to look at the boy that had just spoken.

"Not often, that's for sure," Sirius snorted.

Remus looked away and blushed again.

_Please don't say it_, he thought as he squirmed slightly feeling like someone had put a spotlight on him. _Please_.

"Nothing," Ophelia finished for James, giving him a meaningful look before she let the thought die in mid-air. Sinking farther down on the bed, she rested her head on Remus' shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Oy, no sleeping," James prodded her in the shoulder. When would they learn…Suddenly, James felt quite awkward in that situation, two of his friends in the same bed before him.

Sirius, being none-too-subtle, laughed, "You know, Pheli, I wonder how Remus feels about you sharing his bed."

James, laughing, made a small howling sound, "Animal instincts coming into play, I think."

Ophelia blushed profusely, looking up at Remus, "I…didn't…that wasn't…I…"

" Just ignore them," Remus muttered blushing more than she. He grabbed his pillow, and throwing it at Sirius' face, matter-of-factly. " Gits."

"…come to think of it, though," Ophelia laughed quietly, finding Remus' hand beneath the blankets and giving a good squeeze before she let her hand find its place at her side again, "maybe-"

"Oy, cut it out," James laughed, shaking his head, "Love-"

"-birds," Sirius finished, smiling proudly.

Remus tried his hardest not to cringe again, but his body seemed to have a mind of it's own now a days.

Mistakenly, Ophelia interpreted that to have been in response to her hand gesture, and she sighed a little.

"I see…" she whispered in the gypsy language, loud enough so that Remus could maybe, barely hear it. Sitting up, she tugged her blanket with her and disappeared back to her bed, closing the curtain behind her.

"Sorry," she murmured from behind the veil, "Awful tired, you know."

Remus stared after her wondering what was going through her mind. He had a feeling he would never understand women. He looked at Sirius, who merely shrugged.

James gave Remus a look to beat all looks of import that had been passed through the four of them over the course of the past few years, narrowing his eyes in thought. With a sigh of his own, he shrugged and murmured something that resembled, "…tell her…" before he moved behind the curtain. The sound of weight being put on bed-springs could be heard as James sat beside Ophelia.

Remus' eyes widened, and he stared after him. With an angry, slightly strangled, roar he fell back on his bed only to find that his pillow had not been return. Sirius handed it over, and Remus placed it under his head before turning on his side, his back to Ophelia's bed, and staring furiously at his own curtain.

A light, melodious tune wafted from Ophelia's space, it was a gypsy lullaby of sorts that Ophelia could often be heard humming. James' laugh followed shortly thereafter, and murmured phrases followed closely.

Sirius' eyes widened a little and he plopped himself into a chair beside Remus' bed. "This isn't anything abnormal, but I'm _really_ confused."

Remus glanced at Sirius, Peter sat completely forgotten in a chair.

" Ophelia seems to enjoy male company a lot," he squeaked.

Remus jumped up, and furiously stalked out of the room throwing Peter the most distasteful look he could muster.

" What did I say?" Peter asked as he looked at Sirius.

" Peter, you're an idiot," Sirius said as he stood up, wondering whether he should follow Remus or not.

"Where…" Ophelia's voice drifted from her confused form, watching Remus as he left the Hospital Wing. "I should…"

James nodded, even though he knew Madame Pomfrey would have their heads if _both_ of her patients had up and walked off. He ignored the existence of the punishment that loomed over his head and helped Ophelia to stand, watching her as she walked off. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he joined Sirius, "Oy, this is like one of those Muggle soap operas or something."

Sirius nodded as Remus' voice drifted into the room.

" Bloody _git_!" Remus screamed, not caring who heard him at the moment.

"…Remus?" Ophelia's questioning tone was timid as she approached the aforementioned young man. "We should…be lying down…"

Remus glared at her, and kicked the wall as if it were one of the two friends he was sore with at the moment. Now his toe was in pain too.

"Remus, calm down," Ophelia murmured, stepping forward and reaching out to settle her hand on his shoulder. "Peter probably just meant that I hang out with guys a lot…which is true…I'm around you four most of the time…" _Especially you_, she wanted to add.

" Who said that's what I'm angry about!" Remus snapped back. " I'm not incompetent, you know?"

"So you don't care that Peter insinuated that I'm a whore?" Ophelia raised an eyebrow, slightly amused regardless of Remus' angry demeanor. "If that isn't it, what is? And no, I'm _not_ going to go away."

" Peter wasn't insinuating anything," Remus said as he looked away from her, and at his unclad foot. " He doesn't insinuate, I don't think he knows _how_ to insinuate something like that."

"…You should probably have Madame Pomfrey look at your toe, now…And, I _know_ Peter didn't mean that…but you didn't seem to get terribly angry until Peter said it…The only thing before that was when I held your hand…"

Her voice became quieter as she came to the end of her speech, as if she were a bit ashamed of the fact that she had instilled anger in him for an affectionate act.

" There's nothing wrong with my bloody toe, and this has nothing to do with your bloody displays of affection," Remus said a little louder than he meant.

"Well then what in the name of Merlin is going on inside that head of yours? First you save me, then you act like I'm poisonous, then you get all huffy when James comes to talk to me _because you didn't want to_…And now you're bloody yelling at me like everything's my bloody fault! You're worse than a girl, right now, you know."

" WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE ABOUT YOU!" Remus yelled, his sentence reverberated off the wall. He glared at her before turning away, and realizing what he'd said.

"If it isn't about me," if his voice was louder than normal, hers was the complete opposite, almost silent, "then what _is_ it about, Remus?"

" It's not about you, so just stay out of it," Remus said as he turned again, and tried to push past her to get back to the Hospital Wing.

"Even if it _isn't_ about me I'm your _friend_, Remus," she murmured, putting her hand on his shoulder again, stopping him from passing her. "I _can't_ stay out of it. I care about you."

If she had been in any other state of mind, she would have said it with mocking disgust because of the previous conversation in which he had said such. Right now, however, she just wanted him to know that she did.

Remus looked at her, his anger subsiding a little bit, and being exchanged with confusion.

" Why would anyone care about me," Remus asked sincerely bemused.

As if she had no control over her own body for the moment, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a hug, "Because you're amazing, Remus. You're fantastic – intelligent, kind, gentlemanly…giving, caring, sensitive, sincere…How many other wonderful adjectives do you want, eh?"

" I wasn't fishing for compliments," Remus murmured.

"Compliments are much less genuine than me simply listing the superb things about you, the reasons why I care," she sighed, hugging him tightly to her for a moment before pulling back, looking up at him. She shrugged a little, smiling, "You're you."

Remus, not entirely convinced, looked away from her, and muttered, " We should go back."

"And you should stop avoiding everything," she countered, though left it at that as she turned away from him and towards the door back into the infirmary.

Remus looked after her, and wished that he could say that which he was almost sure James had told her. He followed her silently, and sighed heavily. Why was it that every time he tried to push her out of his heart, as he did with anyone else who tried to care for him, she managed to cling on, and bury herself in deeper?

"I didn't say a word," James clapped him gently on the back as he passed him by, moving beyond him to the door. "I won't. S'not my place, and you damn well know it."

Ophelia, buried in her blankets, heard not a word of this as Madame Pomfrey administered another pepper-up potion to the almost-sleeping young girl.

Remus managed to get into his bed before the severe nurse could catch him out of it. Although he'd been angry at the thought of James telling Ophelia about their conversation now he almost wished that he had.


	9. Chapter 8

1"Oy," Ophelia slapped herself on the forehead, plopping down beside Sirius on the window seat in Honeydukes. "I wish you guys would get off it – my birthday isn't a big deal."

Sirius shrugged, shoving a large lollipop in her direction, "Enjoy – when are we ever remotely this nice to you?"

Remus stood off to the side smiling as Sirius forced his gift upon the young gypsy woman.

" If my birthday is a big deal then yours is…I can't think of a word to describe how much greater of a deal it is!" Remus said, his cheeks slightly pink.

"Double-standards are a beautiful thing," Ophelia snickered, taking the lollipop begrudgingly and tearing the wrapper off of it. The heart-shaped sucker changed flavors six times before settling on blueberry, one of her favorites.

"Sirius, if this makes my mouth a funny color…" she started, removing the sucker form her mouth long enough to speak to him, "I'll make your _face_ a funny color."

"Oooh, I'm scared," Sirius snickered, prodding her in the stomach playfully. "That was a terrible threat, Pheli."

" What about _your_ gift, Remus," James inquired as he settled down next to him with a candy of his own.

" Later," Remus murmured with a smile.

"What are you guys trying to do," Ophelia snickered, her speech a little slurred by the lollipop in her mouth, as she received the large box of heart-shaped chocolates from Peter, "make me fat or something?"

Peter coughed, and Ophelia looked at him apologetically.

" I'll be right back," James said as his eyes settled on a certain red head. " I see the girl I've been trying to make mine. Maybe she'll agree to be my valentine."

" Hey that rhymed," Sirius said, his eyes falling on a brunette who was looking at some licorice wands. " Ah ha! That's my target."

Peter scurried over to a girl standing next to his favorite candy, and began to nervously chat with her leaving Remus and Ophelia alone.

"Oy," Ophelia blushed, removing the sucker from her mouth again as she looked up at Remus. "Looks like my birthday is less important than the dance this evening, eh?"

Obviously, the thought didn't bother her. She was grinning like everything was peachy. Well, okay, so she was a pretty good actress.

Remus sat next to her, and blushed again.

" A…about that…" He began to twiddle his thumbs, she raised her eyebrows when suddenly everything became very dark to Remus.

That darkness could be attributed to a certain Slytherin's black winter coat being dropped atop Remus' head.

"Ophelia," Severus Snape's cool voice caught the gypsy's attention. Long, pale fingers held a small box of chocolates, one hand extending to offer it to the young girl being addressed.

"Firstly, I would like to wish you a happy birthday," Severus began, dark eyes focused only on the girl before him, "And secondly, I wish to…invite you to accompany me to the dance this evening."

"I…" Ophelia's mouth opened, forming only that one vowel. Glancing to her side, she saw the coat-covered individual.

"Thank you, Severus," she reached out to receive the birthday gift, her fingers brushing over his, sending a chill – and not a pleasant one – down her spine. His fingers were ridiculously cold, almost like when she had fallen into the lake. "I…would love to-"

There was a muffled sound from next to her that made the two look at Severus' winter coat. Remus pulled it off him.

" What?" Ophelia said, looking at him confused.

" I said," Remus repeated, looking slightly annoyed…and mad with his hair sticking out all over – sort of like James if he were a brunette and had blue eyes. He put him arm around Ophelia's shoulders. " but she's going with me."

"I…am?" Ophelia raised an eyebrow, looking to Remus in astonishment before offering a sheepish, apologetic smile to Severus.

" Of course," Remus said matter-of-factly. " You wouldn't refuse a birthday gift, would you?"

"I…don't suppose…But, really, it's my gift to you to say yes, ne?" She snickered, prodding him gently in the side before looking back up at Severus. "Well…I do suppose I can't, now…But I do promise you a dance. Whichever one you like…Just come steal me away, right?"

" I'll take you up on that," Severus said, but his eyes were lingering coldly on Remus who was looking defiantly into them in a very un-Remus-ish way.

" Your coat," Remus said holding it out to him as he stood up. Severus snatched it from him.

The dislike that each felt for the other was weighing heavily in the air, but dissipated almost immediately after the Slytherin left.

" Why did you promise that greasy git a dance?" Remus asked incredulously as he sat back down, a little further from where he'd been before.

"Well, I would've gone with him if you hadn't so _gallantly_ tried to _save_ me," she snorted, shaking her head. Biting the lollipop, she finished it off, putting all of her anger into smashing the sugary-goodness into tiny bits.

" I wasn't _gallantly trying to save you_," Remus said slightly annoyed. " I _wanted_ to go with you. I was about to ask you before I was interrupted by a certain Slytherin's coat being dropped on my head."

"Well, we're still going, aren't we? And one dance away from me won't kill you, you know…You spend an awful lot of time avoiding me to even try and pretend like that's the case." Something in her voice held a note of annoyance, but really she seemed pretty good-natured about the whole thing. "Could we _please_ not be angry with each other at least until tomorrow?"

Remus took a calming breath.

" Fine," he said, though he was still more than a little irked. " I'll wait until tomorrow to be angry."

"It's taken you five years to ask me to do anything but pass you the pitcher of water during a meal…I think, perhaps, you can manage one dance," she murmured, looking over at him with a little bit of a smile. "He'll probably forget any how."

" Probably," Remus said his anger ebbing away. " No, he won't. He knows that it bothers me, and that's what he lives for. To bother people." Remus was silent for a moment before adding tentatively, " is this my one thing I get to ask of you for saving your life?"

"So he couldn't _possibly_ be interested in me because it's me, eh?" she frowned a little, though her eyes smiled. She was amused, not annoyed. "And…no, not if you'd rather wait and use that as something else. This doesn't constitute as a life-saving-pay-back-favor."

" That's good to know," Remus said very quietly before continuing, his voice at it's regular volume once more. " I wonder if James and Sirius were successful…oh, and Peter too."

"First of all, that first comment of mine was fishing for compliments…Learn how to take the bait, right? And…second, James does _not_ look happy about his situation…Sirius ran off with the brunette, probably to pick out matching corsages or something, and Peter…" She nodded quickly in the direction of the Sugar Quills stand, showing off the pair of blushing, slightly shorter and stockier individuals. Peter was showing the tastier of the Quills, offering to buy the girl one or something like that. "…well…"

Remus smiled, and chuckled a little. It was about time someone showed interest in the mousy boy.

" So you want compliments?" Remus said teasingly and raising his eyebrows before adopting a slightly higher pitched voice than was his norm. " You're amazing, _Ophelia_. You're fantastic – intelligent, kind, gentle–ah–_womanly_?…giving, caring, sensitive, sincere…How many other wonderful adjectives do you want," He poked her in the shoulder. " eh?"

Laughing, her hand caught his finger gently, wrapping her digits around his one in response as she shook her head, "You're terrible, you know that? All I wanted was an 'oh, of _course_ he'd want to go with you…you're amazingly beautiful, after all..' or _something_."

" Well, that's more Sirius' forte," Remus said his cheeks tinged with pink slightly. " I'm not too good at coming up with stuff like that."

"Oh believe me, I know," she snickered, maneuvering her hand so that she was holding his. Lifting it, she brushed her lips over a knuckle lightly. "But the fact that you can answer any question thrown at you and _not_ think of a cute thing to say about me is ridiculously endearing."

" Oh be quiet," Remus said blushing more profusely now.

James plopped down between the two of them, totally ignoring the fact that they had been close enough to kiss, breaking the two of them up with a grumble of, "Bloody-"

"Well, I do suppose it didn't go as you'd hoped?" Ophelia raised an eyebrow, tossing Remus an apologetic look as if James coming between them as her fault.

"What's wrong with her?" James frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She's…blind? Err…stupid?"

"Don't say that about her," James shot her a pointed look.

Ophelia laughed, shaking her head, "How am I supposed to comfort you if you won't let me insult her? I mean, do you _not_ remember what happened the first night we were here? Yikes, she's got something against me I'd have barely said three words to her."

Remus chewed his lip slightly before standing up.

" I'll be right back," he said as he looked at James' defeated form. " I'm going to get something, do you want anything Ophelia, James?"

Ophelia looked at him curiously, having an idea where Remus was going and what he was about to do. Deciding to give him something to go for, she shrugged a little, "A container of cockroach clusters….I meant to grab one for Professor Dumbledore but didn't get around to it yet…I'll reimburse you when you come back, right?"

" Don't worry about it," Remus said as he turned away, and walked off in the direction of the specified candy. When he got there he saw that the red head James had his heart set on was looking at the candies next to them. Ophelia really was too smart for her own good sometimes.

" Lily," Remus said as he walked over to her, she looked up, and her friends giggled before excusing themselves to the corner near by, and throwing the pair significant looks. Remus kneeled in front of her. " _Please_ take him! I _really_ don't want to deal with him moping around. What harm can one school dance do?"

Ophelia's eyes widened as she saw the two of them. Of course, her mind went to the worst place. Standing, she cleared her throat and turned so that James would have to look at her – he could find out later. Honeydukes was _not_ the place for this scene.

_Great birthday present, Remus_, she thought, sadly. Ignoring the tearing at her proverbial heart, she prodded James' shoulder, "Come off it, right? Everything's going to be great…Oh! I know, you can go with me, eh?…As friends, of course."

James looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged, " I suppose it's better than going alone…Er, not that there's anything wrong with you."

"You catch on quicker than Remus," Ophelia added with a sad sort of smile. "Ah well…hmm, what color are your dress robes? I suppose the flowers should maybe match."

" Yeah, probably," James said as he looked up. " Speaking of Remus where is…"

" Come on then," Ophelia said as she tugged him away so that Remus and Lily were out of sight. " we should get going before they're all bought out, right?"

Remus looked over at the two, wondering slightly where they were going. Maybe to the Three Broomstick for a pick-James-up. He turned his attention back to confused looking girl.

" Please," he said once more.

With a groan, Lily glanced over his shoulder and saw James and Ophelia exiting, walking passed the store window in the direction of the flower shop across the street, "It looks like he's already gotten himself a date…"

" No, I'm going with her," Remus said laughing a little. The thought of James and Ophelia was a little silly. " I bet James is helping her pick out the flowers."

"Okay, James…here's what's going on," Ophelia murmured, stopping as they reached the flower shop. "So, I'm…err…I was under the impression that I was going to the dance with Remus…and then…I saw him talking to a girl, and I think…he asked her. Should I assume he did, or didn't? And…no, I didn't just ask you because I saw him ask someone else…"

" I think you should ask him about it first," James said as he picked a ladybug of some forget-me-nots. " I suppose I'll have to find another date then, huh?"

"No, no.." she stopped, looking at a flower that was a blue Ophelia couldn't imagine existed in nature. Then again, it reminded her of…something.

Remus' eyes! She couldn't help but smile a little, touching the petal gently before she looked back up at James, shaking her head as if coming from a daze, "Right, right…No, you don't have to find another date…I'll be…right back, all right? Stay _right here_. Don't you dare even _think_ about moving, okay? I'm being honest-" she had learned not to use the word 'serious' when she was trying to be. It ended poorly "-, all right? _Stay here_."

A little confused, James nodded his head, and looked back at the flower he'd saved from the ladybug's rampage.

Patting him lightly on the shoulder, she bounded out of the shop and back to Honeydukes. It was not long before she had planted herself beside Remus, looking up at him as she caught her breath. Sprinting. Fun.

"Remus, could you tell me, just maybe, that you're asking her," she looked at Lily, her voice not carrying any sort of discontent minus the ill breathing pattern she was experiencing, "for James, and not for yourself…Pleeease, please tell me that's the case. Please?"

" Of course it is," Remus said looking at her like she was a little silly. " Why on Earth would I ask Lily – er – when I know James likes her." He added the last bit in a haste because of the look Lily was sending his way. " Aaaaaand because I'm going with you."

"You're bloody lucky you added that last bit, love," Ophelia snickered, shaking her head. "Right, right…Okay, Lily, I'd say you need to head over to the flower shop and let James know of the…change in plans, before he goes and offs himself. Angsty teenagehood, I swear."

Lily's gaze lingered on her for a moment before she turned, and headed for the shop. Remus was snickering under his breath.

"Oh…and I thought…" Ophelia started, biting her lip. "Well, you know, you kind of _kneeled in front of her_…It put me under the assumption…you know…and…I…I'm not too trusting in your feelings towards me, considering they tend to fluctuate pretty often…Not complaining terribly so or anything…just…I'm being cautious, right?"

Remus was continuing to chuckle under his breath when he finally caught enough in his lungs to say, " Lily…and me…that's….that's…" he could only manage to shake his head to show what it was.

"Good," Ophelia nodded, her cheeks turning a bright pink. "Because…well…you know, I have a tough enough time getting you to acknowledge my presence without having to worry about competition."

" I don't know why you would need to worry about competition," Remus said as his laughter died down finally. " I mean, I think you're the only one who…feels like you do about me."

"What is it with you and that word?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she picked up a container of cockroach clusters – she really _had_ wanted Remus to pick some up for her. Reaching a hand towards him, she grabbed a hold of his sleeve and tugged him in the direction of the check-out counter.

" What word," Remus asked as he plunged his hand into his pocket, and pulled out a few wizard coins. " How much is it," he added to the kindly looking woman on the other side of the counter.

Giving him a playful look of don't-you-dare, Ophelia dropped a few coins of her own on the table, leaving the excess there as she looped her arm through his and made for the door. "Love," she added as an afterthought.

" I don't have a problem with the word love," Remus protested, as he dropped the coins back into his pocket. " It's putting it into a sentence as an expression of my feelings that I have a problem with."

"So you can't say you love me?" she looked up at him, a small smile on her lips, but a bit of a frown in her eyes. She seemed to shrug the thought off as she looked away from him, rolling the jar from one hand to the other and back again.

" Of course I can," he said evasively.

"Fine," Ophelia shrugged again, still not looking at him. She wanted to ask him to say it, but what would that accomplish? It's not like he would say it.

"You know…I don't think you can," she murmured, very, _very_ quietly. "If you can say it…and _mean_ it, then say it."

" You love me," Remus said smiling.

Ophelia snorted before laughing a little, pushing her shoulder gently into his side, causing her walk to take on a sort of inebriated swaying motion.

"That's _not_ what I meant, and you know it."

" I told you already," Remus said quietly. " I have trouble putting it in a sentence to express _my_ feelings." He chuckled a little. " I guess I'm too afraid to."

"Or you don't want to say something you don't mean," she replied, her voice softer than his last comment. "And I wouldn't expect you to say something you didn't mean either. It's fine, really." Lies, lies, lies…It felt about as fine as a…very…_un_-fine thing.

Remus stopped short, and looked at her, but she was avoiding his gaze.

" What is it with you, and being set on me not…" He looked away, he couldn't say it.

"Fine, okay," Ophelia stopped, too, turning to look up at him. Her eyes didn't waver once she found his gaze she had neither a smile nor a frown on her lips, "You love me, then? Just nod your head or something – you're not using the word in a sentence to describe your feelings. I am."

_Or something_…

Before he knew what he was doing, his face was inches from hers. He closed his eyes, and he closed the distance between them. Their lips met, and he had to agree with Sirius, she was a good snog…no. A _great_ snog.

Not realizing what, exactly, was going on and only noting that her deepest desire had officially come to pass, the young witch in question promptly dropped her newly-bought present for the headmaster of Hogwarts and let it smash to the ground, totally ignoring the sound of the glass breaking. Her arms, instinctively, wound their way around his neck and she hugged him, somewhere in the back of her mind thankful that their coats had, somehow, remained unbuttoned.

Remus pulled away after a moment, and blushed profusely.

" Or…or something…?" He murmured, his eyes slowly opening.

"Yeah…that was…definitely _something_," Ophelia grinned, moving her arms from around his neck to around his middle, hugging him tightly in something resembling a still-standing glomp.

"Like I said…you don't have to say it…instead of telling me you love me, that's a _perfectly fine_ response…Trust me. I _won't_ be complaining."

" Er…happy birthday…?" He said with a smile. " I was actually going to…avoid the subject, but…er…I guess I didn't, did I?"

"You learn…well, I can't say quickly, now can I?…Hmm… you learn at a ridiculously slow pace, my darling…but, you still learn…_eventually_. Which, really, is all that one can ask for, no?"

Remus smile, and nodded.

" Only when it comes to something like this," Remus said, blushing once more, and looking away. " I…I'm not good with relationships…so if I screw up, just…just hit me or something."

"I could definitely see repeating _this_ 'or something'…And, don't worry…I'm not exactly the queen of communication either."

Remus smiled as he looked down at his watch.

" Merlin's beard! We need to get the flowers, and the…and the…" he stammered looking down. " Cluckroast Cockchers…I mean…you know what I mean."

Snickering, she backed up from the hug and kissed him gently on the cheek before pulling out her wand and _Repairo_-ing the broken jar. Smiling up at him, she nodded, "I know…Now, do you want to be on candy duty or flower duty, or shall we do this together?"

" I…I don't know," Remus said after a moment. " What…what do you…_think_ I should do?"

"I didn't know being your girlfriend meant I get to dictate your every move," she snickered, shaking her head. "Oy, I'm Hitler reborn…and…female…and…Romanian….and I say 'oy'…so I'm a Jewish-Romanian Hitler…and I'm done with that rant now…_Anyway_…"

" I don't know if you want me to stay with you, or…what…" Remus said smiling sheepishly.

"That's a silly question if I ever heard one…I thought you were smart, love? I mean…you…and…me? _Of course_ I want you to stay with me…the question is…wait, okay, we'll never get anything done if we stand here _talking about it_ for the next twenty minutes."

" Um, then…I'll stay…with…you…?" Remus ventured, he smiled and repeated himself. " I'll stay with you."

"Right, good choice," she smiled, finding his hand and lacing her fingers through his. She was jumping for joy inside, her heart reminding her of a creepy clown on the end of a spring in a jack-in-the-box…only not so creepy…or…clown-like…

"Candy first, I suppose. It'll give us more time to pick out the flowers…and…well, we don't really need…flowers? I mean, we're going together…flowers seem…I don't know…I'm just _really happy_ about the whole…you-going-with-me thing…flowers aren't a necessity."

" I'm…I'm happy that I'm going with you too," Remus said as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.


End file.
